A DOWNTRODDEN landlord who bought a failing pub after hitting rock bottom discovered a liquid "goldmine" hidden beneath the boozer.

       Doran Binder snapped up the Crag Inn in Wildboarclough, Cheshire, in 2016 after going through a divorce.

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       Doran Binder discovered pure water beneath his pub Credit: MEN Media

       But he was stunned to discover 700,000 litres of some of the purest water in the world running 27m below the pub when he got a survey done.

       The 49-year-old has since turned down an offer to sell the liquid to a high-end drinks manufacturer for ￡110 a bottle.

       He is instead running his own glass bottling operation straight from the pub - with calls coming in from as far as India, China and the US.

       The dad-of-five told Cheshire Live: "I thought, 'I'll run it for a year, see how it goes and then make a decision about what we do with the pub'.

       "Because it's a pub we have to undergo annual testing to make sure the water is safe for public consumption. I invited Blair Water round because they're the company that his historically tested the water every year.

       "I approached the meeting thinking, 'I'm going to have to spend ten grand on this water, I know it'.

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       "So Richard Taylor, who owns Blair Water, comes along and we sit in the pub. I've never met him before, and the first thing he says to me is, 'Do you know how good your water is, mate?'

       "He said he'd told the previous owners for twenty years that they should be bottling it and selling it, but they never did.

       "He said, 'I've been drilling water for forty years, all over the world, and this is the best water I've drilled by a mile, anywhere'."

       Doran says the water is a "vein of gold" coming from nearby Shutlingsloe hill that flows through limestone and sandstone into his spring.

       The landlord, who at the time of the survey was splitting his time between New York and the UK, began bottling the liquid in May 2018.

       He didn't believe he would make money from flogging the mineral water from his small operation so was stunned when the American firm got in touch.

       WATER TOUCH

       They offered to sell the water on their boutique but Doran refused and opened company Crag Spring Water.

       He now employs 12 people who operate out of the pub's old dining room with the boozer itself closed down.

       The glass bottles are delivered straight to the customer's door with dairies helping supply it on their milk rounds.

       Doran sells still water for ￡12 for 12 750ml bottles, while the sparkling goes for ￡15 at the same amount.

       The company also provides internships in collaboration with the Rossendale Trust, which works with people with learning difficulties.

       He said: "When I thought about how this gift came along at the worst point in my life, when I was really rock bottom, I thought someone's looking out for me here, and I want to do everything I can to make the product as environmentally-friendly as I can.

       "But then I thought about the Rossendale Trust... that's me paying back that debt, I suppose, to whoever it was looking out for me when I needed a bit of help."

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       The water runs from Shutlingsloe hill Credit: MEN Media 3

       Doran's team deliver the water in crates Credit: MEN Media

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