Enjoy a night out in a nick

A former police station on Bristol's dockside is to be converted into one of the city's most ambitious restaurant projects to date.

Food lovers will be able to choose between a 130-seat formal restaurant and a café-bar when the project is completed this summer.

Peter Taylor and Shirley Anne Bell, co-owners of Bell's Diner in the Montpelier area of Bristol, have paid Avon and Somerset Police around £200,000 for the building.

Work is due to start on the project, which will be known as the River Station, in March.

"Bristol needs something big to give it a poke in the ribs," said Mr Taylor. "But we're not trying to copy a London restaurant. Bristol needs its own restaurant identity."

The building will cost around £300,000 to fit out and is expected to open in July. The ground floor café-bar will seat up to 100 and serve cold bar snacks and sandwiches.

The first-floor restaurant will offer a menu of modern British food, similar to the dishes served in Bell's Diner, with an average spend per head of £12-£15.