A veteran landlady has died after plunging down a flight of stairs.

Hard-working Evelyn Carden had run Geordies Byre in Ayr for an astonishing 42 years and was still serving behind the bar.

She was found last Tuesday in the stairwell of her flat above the pub after being out for a meal with some of her staff.

Emergency services raced to the Main Street premises - but she was already dead.

Great bar couple Eddie and Evelyn Carden at Geordies Byre

The world of real ale has paid tribute to the 67-year-old who was known for keeping great beer and great cheer.

Now it’s feared the famous watering hole - which had been up for sale - will not be reopened by her husband Eddie, now in his eighties.

Evelyn took over behind the bar in 1976.

A notice has been pinned to the door saying: “Bar closed until further notice due to unforeseen circumstances.”

A spokesman for Ayr Police said: “Police attended at 12.15am after a report of a sudden death.

“A woman was taken by ambulance to Ayr mortuary.”

Geordie's Byre was a popular stop on the real ale trail

Lindsay Grant, chairman of the Ayrshire and Wigtownshire Campaign for Real Ale, made Geordies his local when he lived in Craigie, Ayr.

Lindsay said: “We are all very sad to hear about Evelyn, she was one of the most friendly, approachable bar staff in any pub I have ever been in.

“She would always have a word for you, always start a conversation, and asked how you were.

“The other good thing about drinking in Geordies was that both Evelyn and Eddie took no nonsense.

“There was no swearing or arguments because it simply was not allowed.

“Although pub-going has reduced, there was still a sizeable number of people who would travel just to go to Geordies.

“That was because of the decent beer Evelyn kept and the good atmosphere created by both her and Eddie.”

Evelyn is understood to have been out last Tuesday night for a meal, then returned home to her flat above the pub when she fell down the stairs.

John Scott MSP, a former real ale festival judge, said: “Evelyn was a hugely respected lady who was well regarded by everyone who met her.”

The pub has been on the market for two years at offers over £220,000.

It was back in 1976 that Evelyn and Eddie - who had taken early retirement from the police - took over behind the Main Street pub.

As it was near Ayr Police station it quickly became the haunt of cops and detectives in the days when they were allowed to drink.

Two years ago Evelyn was interviewed by the real ale magazine Full Pints, produced by the Ayrshire and Wigtownshire branch of CAMRA.

Geordies won multiple Scottish Pub of the Year titles as well as being the Ayrshire and Galloway Pub of the Year and three quarters of beer sales were from the cask.

Evelyn said then: “It really doesn’t feel 40 years have passed and yet we are now serving the grandchildren of customers who came here right at the start. Without doubt it’s the clientele that make the pub, plus of course, well cared for beer.”