A NUMBER of pubs in the Taunton, Bridgwater and Burnham-on-Sea areas belong to a company with historic links to slavery.

The current boss of Greene King has said it is "inexcusable" that one of the firm's founders profited from slavery and has pledged to make a donation to support the Black Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) community.

Benjamin Greene, who founded the forerunner company of Greene King in 1799, owned plantations in the Caribbean.

The firm got its current name after merging with a local brewery in 1887.

Greene was compensated by the British government when slavery was abolished.

Pubs it runs in our area include Hideout, Stonegallows and Cross Keys, in and around Taunton; Malt Shovel and Quantock, in Bridgwater; and Railway and Rosewood, Burnham-on-Sea.

Greene King chief executive Nick Mackenzie said: "It is inexcusable that one of our founders profited from slavery and argued against its abolition in the 1800s.

"While that is a part of our history, we are now focused on the present and the future."

He added that the pub chain will "make a substantial investment to benefit the BAME community and support our race diversity in the business".