The pub with a reputation 'as one of the toughest boozers'

In the mid 90s, the Eagle and Child in Huyton, Merseyside, had an ignominious end, some say due to an ill-thought-out indoor firework display.

The pub which once stood on Liverpool Road was less like the TV show Cheers and more spilled beers, motorbikes being ridden through the lounge and rodent racing.

Now some of its regulars have taken a trip down memory lane as part of a series called My Story, hosted by BBC Radio 5 Live presenter Tony Livesey, where listeners are invited to send in photographs that mean something to them.

For John Burns, a photograph of The Eagle and Child pub, which closed down in the 1990s and was later demolished, holds many memories.

"It had a little bit of a bad reputation, but [it was] unbelievable, I think it was unwarranted, because it was a fantastic place, full of characters," said John.

"It was that massive, you had two managers, you had one for the lounge and one for the bar," said John.

One of the former managers was Evertonian Eddie Kavanagh who hit the headlines when he invaded the pitch during the 1966 FA Cup final at Wembley.

The Liverpool Echo named the pub as one of the toughest boozers in the city's history.

Fellow regular Tommy Riley remembers how the pub, which has since been replaced by a McDonald's, Costa Coffee and a Lidl, had some unusual entertainment.

"Everyone had a bet on the mice and they'd open the trap door and the mice would be like this, going this way, that way," said Tommy.

"It was the first one to get to the other end.

"Everyone was betting on it. We had a real good laugh."

Jimmy McMillan, another regular at the pub, recalled how he was once invited for a lock-in that lasted a little longer that he expected.

"It was Sunday and I got a taste and they said 'do you want to stay behind?'

"I said 'yeah, come on'.

"The "stay behind" lasted three days.

"How my wife didn't divorce me I'll never know!"

As ever in this series, it is not just about buildings, but about people.

In 1983, the pub's Sunday football team became champions of England.

Tommy, who captained the team, said: "The lads we had in the team were unbelievable.

"All for one and one for all."

This was despite a night in the pub the previous day.

"It's just the way life was at the time," said Tommy.

"You had to stay out otherwise, if you went home early, you'd have a stinker the following day."

This photograph, above, shows The Eagle and Child team along with fans before their 2-1 away win in the FA Sunday Cup final - known as the National Cup locally at Lee Chapel North.

Tony Bramwell, whose late father was on the team, said: "He won the cup and I've been brought up on the folklore of all these lads.

"It's legendary, all through Brighton.

"They're going to go down in history and they still do to this day."

If you would like to take part in the My Story series then email in a photograph and a brief description to nwt@bbc.co.uk

Listen to the best of BBC Radio Merseyside on Sounds and follow BBC Merseyside on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.