AN EAST Riding pub has been named as one of the safest in the county - as well as community pub of the year.
The Wrygarth Inn in Great Hatfield was crowned best community pub and overall winners at the East Riding Best Bar None awards, in a special ceremony at Beverley Racecourse.
The awards were introduced to promote good practice around safety, public health initiatives, and customer care, as well as helping to raise standards in the licensed trade to ensure responsible management of their premises.
Owners of the Wrygarth Inn Ray and Sandra Thompson said they were delighted to receive the awards.
Mr Thompson said: "It's wonderful to win these awards. We were not expecting it at all.
"You never know what is going to happen on the night and we were up against some very notable entries, so we are very pleased."
The Wrygarth Inn will now compete against other premises at a national event to be held in London.
East Riding Council's licensing team, along with public health and Humberside Police, carried out assessments over a six-month period, with the aim of finding the best licensed premises in each of six categories.
The best pub, best bar, best community premises, best food-led premises, best entertainment venue, best new entrant to the scheme and the best community initiative were all acknowledged.
In total, 40 premises applied to take part in the scheme and 35 were successful in gaining accreditation.
They all received a plaque, which can be displayed publicly, at the ceremony.
East Riding Councillor Jackie Cracknell said: "The bar and leisure industry is an important part of the night-time economy of the East Riding and this scheme encourages licensees to act responsibly, take pride in their premises and surroundings and, in doing so, put something back into their local community.
"The effort of all the participants is highly commendable, bringing lots of rewards for licensees, including the prestige of being part of the awards scheme, increased business in the area and lower insurance premiums resulting from the fact they are running safer establishments."
This latest accolade for the Great Hatfield pub tops off a successful year, after the Wrygarth Inn also scooped a hospitality and tourism award at the Hull and Humber Chamber of Commerce awards in October and was the runner-up in Britain's Best Community Pub of the Year in London just weeks ago.
Mr Thompson said: "We are a community pub.
"We have a village shop and a crazy golf course and we do a lot for the community.
"My wife is doing a sponsored parachute jump to raise money to help buy a defibrillator for the village."
