A POPULAR Darwen town centre pub has been named ‘Best Managed Pub’ in the North West.

The Bridgewater, in Church Street, won the title in the BT Sport Great British Pub Awards 2013.

It beat the challenge of other pubs in the region to claim the title.

The awards were organised by leading pub industry magazine, the Publican’s Morning Advertiser. Editor Rob Willock said: “The pub is a worthy winner of the award.

“It is at the heart of the community and caters for everyone, from early morning coffee and breakfast to nightclub-style atmosphere and entertainment until the early hours of the morning.

“It has introduced a number of initiatives to boost sales and has also embraced digital marketing, for example launching its food menu on Facebook.

“For the past six years the pub has enjoyed year-on-year growth and the management and staff work tirelessly to ensure that this will continue in the coming years.”

The Smith and Jones pub is owned by the Bramwell Pub Company and run by manager Adam Hulme.

Mr Hulme said: “We have the best of both worlds here. We cater for all different types of drinkers, we have a good breakfast trade and we get a lot of families coming in. But then on a Friday night we don’t get busy until midnight and we are packed right through until 4am.”

Mr Hulme intended to spend just 18 months at the pub when he came to town seven years ago.

He said: “I just fell in love with the place and the town.

“The company lets me do pretty much what I want, and there are so many charities and community groups around here that want to hold events. It is like nothing I had ever seen before.”

The Bridgewater will compete in the BT Sport Great British Pub Awards 2013 final at the Hilton Hotel in London on Thursday, September 12, and hosted by actor and comedian Greg Davies.

It will go head to head with five other regional winners for the UK’s ‘Best Managed Pub’ and compete for ‘Great British Pub of the Year’.