The century-old Dick Turpin name has been restored after the owners of a restaurant bowed to public pressure.

Since the 1890s the name has been linked to a building in Aldborough Road North, Newbury Park.

But in 2006 signs with the name Dick Turpin were taken down when the Miller & Carter restaurant moved in to the building.

Five years later and after lobbying by resident Ron Jeffries, a new sign with the words Dick Turpin was erected on Wednesday.

A delighted Mr Jeffries, who is chairman of the Aldborough Hatch Defence Association, said: “It’s literally taken five years for this to happen.

“No one calls it Miller & Carter.

“You ring them up and they say ‘Dick Turpin’.

“The name is on their card slip. It’s says Dick Turpin in the telephone directory.”

He added: “I’m surprised. I didn’t think they would give way but they have.”

Dick Turpin started life as a beer house in a cottage on Aldborough Hall Farm.

The present building, which dates from 1912, was damaged in 1944 by a V2 rocket but parts of the structure survive to this day.

It remained the Dick Turpin pub until Miller & Carter opened a restaurant there about five years ago.

A spokesman for restaurant owners Mitchells & Butlers said it was “delighted” to retain the site’s heritage.

He added: “We believe that our new signage perfectly blends the old with the new.

“Miller & Carter is a contemporary steakhouse which is very popular locally.

“We are fully aware that many local people know and love the business as the Dick Turpin therefore we are more then happy to incorporate the historic name with the Miller & Carter name. Feedback both from customers and local residents has been really positive.”

Dick Turpin was an English highwayman who died in 1739 aged 33.

Mr Jeffries, 78, said: “He never came to Aldborough Hatch as far as we know, but he was certainly active in Barking where he did lots of robberies.”