Former American footballer Lorne Sam hates British beer, upset locals by swapping cottage pie for frozen pizza and is embroiled in a bitter feud with his posh landlord… So does he regret taking over the UK’s ‘prettiest pub’?

• Ex-NFL player Lorne Sam moved to the UK from the U.S. to run the village pub

In deepest Leicestershire, down muddy lanes, past fields dotted with sheep, a bitter feud is raging over The Carington Arms, described as ‘possibly the prettiest pub’ in England.

On one side is a posh-sounding chap called Alex Stroud and fellow members of the Ashby Folville Land Trust, which owns most of the village.

Alex, 54, is a scion of the Smith-Carington family, who have lived in Ashby Folville for generations, has a willowy blonde wife called Lucy, a £1 million house next to the pub and a controlling vote over the estate.

On the other side of the bar is Lorne Sam, a 6ft 3in, 39-year-old ex-NFL player, who played American football for the Green Bay Packers and Denver Broncos.

Despite knowing little about pubs and loathing British beer (‘terrible’), Lorne moved here last November from the U.S. to run the village pub. 

Lorne Sam, a 6ft 3in, 39-year-old ex-NFL player moved here last November from the U.S. to run the village pub

‘Running it into the ground, more like,’ mutters one old boy.

After barely a year and endless rows, Lorne says he is being forced out as he’s black and American. The whole sorry matter is now heading to court.

Sadly, things haven’t been going smoothly for a while.

‘It’s been open. It’s been shut. It’s like a rollercoaster. When we moved here last year the pub was a huge draw,’ says Charlotte, who lives in an estate cottage in the village. ‘But not any more. Apparently, now we’re all racist. It’s just one big battleground.’

She’s right.

There have been disputes over everything — from £13,000 unpaid rent, to Lorne’s loss of earnings when trustees forfeited his lease and shut the pub.

There have been rumblings over its cleanliness, proposed decor and ad hoc refurbishments — right down to who paid for the lino in the men’s loo.

Not forgetting the Americanised menu and dearth of traditional cottage pie and peas (now back after a punter outcry).

But things really blew up when Lorne used the pub’s Facebook account to share private correspondence with Alex, dating back to the summer, in which he accuses his landlord of discriminating against him because he is African-American — something Alex calls ‘ludicrous and offensive’.

Alex Stroud, 54, is a scion of the Smith-Carington family, who have lived in Ashby Folville for generations and a £1 million house next to the pub and a controlling vote over the estate

Social media went berserk. ‘How dare you say that about Alex?’ one post said.

‘We’ll boycott the pub!’ said several more.

Others were unprintable.

And it seems they were true to their word. Because, last Thursday, when I meet Lorne for a chat in the bar, we have the pick of every table. It’s the week before Christmas and the place is deserted.

He hasn’t bothered to turn on the beer pumps — no need. The heating is off, as are the Christmas lights, and it’s freezing.

‘They just don’t like the way I am, and they’re committed to getting me out,’ he says.

Lorne previously played American football for the Green Bay Packers and Denver Broncos

His main grievance is that he has been treated differently from the previous tenants who, due to an accounting error, enjoyed a discounted rent for more than two years. However, it is the smaller squabbles that seem to have hurt him more — particularly Alex and Lucy’s efforts to ‘uplift’ the pub.

‘Alex kept saying: ‘I want to be able to bring my friends here and share a nice meal.’

The couple are said to have felt the pub’s previous staples of pie and roasts were more suitable for his regular shooting parties than Lorne’s spicy chicken wings and frozen pizza.

There were also endless suggestions for cleaning, maintenance, garden shrubs and, one day, he says, Lucy, without invitation, stuck paint swatches to the wall — darker greens and blues.

Instead, he used white.

In deepest Leicestershire, down muddy lanes, past fields dotted with sheep, a bitter feud is raging over The Carington Arms, described as ‘possibly the prettiest pub’ in England

Even worse, he claims someone told him Alex was spreading rumours that Lorne had threatened himself and his family.

‘Typical stereotyping of a big black American man!’ says Lorne.

Again, Alex firmly denies this.

But why on earth would a former quarterback move to a teeny village where he knows no one?

‘I’m a reckless adventurer. I have always had an itch to see stuff. I never made the big bucks, maybe $90,000 (£71,000) a year. But I always travelled with my football — all over the States, to Italy, to Coventry to play for the Jets.’

But Ashby Folville? It’s very pretty. But there’s hardly anything here. Just the church, village hall, cricket pitch, pub and a population of less than 100.

When he first arrived, everyone was very welcoming.

Lorne used the pub’s Facebook account to share private correspondence with Alex in which he accuses his landlord of discriminating against him because he is African-American

He threw himself into the pub —changed the menu to bar snacks and encouraged the bikers back. Lorne was thrilled when 500 turned up one night, ‘filling the road right down to the church!’

He also embraced the local community. ‘I joined the rugby team. I’d never played before, but I had a great time!’ he says. He loves the local hunt, too. And next year, he plans to join the cricket club, if he’s still here, but that’s unlikely.

Right now, after a two-month closure, the pub is open just four days a week on a temporary event licence. That ends in January, when it is likely to be closed until the court case next summer.

When I visited last week it was rather dismal. The Young Farmers were due in later. But in the whole time I’m there, the only visitor is a chap called Vince, who rushes in to use the loo and, on emerging asks: ‘Is that bloody Yank who owes all the money still here?’

And then leaves. Silence again.

However hard you try — and Lorne does try, sinking more than £100,000 of his own money into the enterprise, taking on all the cooking after finances meant he had to let his chef go — a village pub without locals is doomed.

While here, I try to contact Alex, Lucy and George, the head of the estate, but none want to chat.

Lorne insists he is going nowhere, as he’s had many messages of support, and wants to fight on in court on principle

The villagers, however, don’t hold back. Not about their deep love for Alex and Lucy: ‘They’re the nicest people and part of everything — the cake stall, the fete, the pub, the village hall.’

Or, for that matter, on their loathing of Lorne’s allegations.

‘To say that! Everyone is disgusted,’ says a lady called Sue. ‘They’ve not got a racist bone in their bodies. One of Alex’s friends is black! None of us are racists.’

When we meet, Lorne insists he is going nowhere, as he’s had many messages of support, and wants to fight on in court on principle.

But, a few days later, he tells me he’s having a rethink as he’s worried about his personal safety after hearing rumours that a Ku Klux Klan meme had been doing the rounds locally on social media.

Poor Lorne. For whatever the truth, it’s going to be miserable for everyone, as long he stays. Particularly, for him.

Lorne spent more than £100,000 of his own money into the enterprise, taking on all the cooking after finances meant he had to let his chef go

Because he lives above the pub in a community that has sent him back to Coventry and it is taking its toll. He looks tired and his eyes are bloodshot. He feels isolated.

‘It’s affecting my mental health. My sleep isn’t good,’ he says.

He is also homesick. ‘I haven’t been home all year. I want to go and see my mum. My sister.’

And he hasn’t seen his 11-year-old daughter since January.

But most of all, he must be kicking himself. For not doing due diligence before pouring money into the business. For making serious allegations of racism on public websites. But perhaps, also, for assuming that running a country pub in Britain was easy.

I can’t help feeling sorry for him. He’s a nice chap, with good intentions, but this whole adventure has clearly been a disaster.

As the sky darkens and I leave, I can see him turning out the lights. I really hope those Young Farmers don’t let him down tonight.

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