WIRRAL-born celebrity chef Simon Rimmer is to open a pub and restaurant in West Kirby next month.

The star of Channel 4's Sunday Brunch will open The Viking and Bakehouse on Black Horse Hill in June, on a date yet to be confirmed.

Planning permission was approved by Wirral Council earlier this year. The pub takes over what was most recently known as The Hilltop.

Simon, from Wallasey came to fame after founding Greens, a vegetarian restaurant in West Didsbury, Manchester in 1990.

He has appeared on This Morning, Granada Tonight, A Taste for Travel, Lunchtime Live and The Afternoon Show.

He co-hosted the BBC Two programme Something for the Weekend with Tom Lovejoy from 2006 until 2012.

His books include The Accidental Vegetarian and The Seasoned Vegetarian.