Jordan Hunt and his wife Joanna from The Heys Inn says it is ‘an honour and truly fabulous news’ to be in the running for the title.

Joanna said she wanted to thank everyone who supported them ‘whether you’ve been coming in for years or are new friends we do not take your support for granted.

“We are blessed to have such a wonderful bunch of customers,” she said. “The pub has been the heart of the area for many years.

“We took over in 2013 aged 22 with a one-year-old son. It’s been our family home for nearly a decade now and we’ve gone on to have three more children. It’s hard to imagine life anywhere else.

“Jordan used to drink in The Heys with his dad. When the opportunity arose to run the pub he went along for a meeting ‘just to see’ what it would entail. He left an hour later with the keys and the rest, they say, is history.”

Just like most industries Joanna added they were looking to change.

“We are currently awaiting partial structural changes from the brewery.

“This will enable us to update the interior of the pub and give it an overall freshen up. We will never take away from the ‘traditional pub’ elements with all the wood and brass - we love that aesthetic and traditional will never go out of style.

“We have focused heavily on a diverse range of live music - something we are both very passionate about - and prioritised Sky and BT sports. This is along with keeping up the traditional pub teams such as dominoes, pool and darts. There’s something for everyone.

“The people really are what sets this pub apart from the rest. The vast age ranges of customers enjoying the pub together is something we continually love about The Heys Inn. It’s a good old fashioned community pub at heart and there’s not enough of those around anymore.”

Joanna says ice cold Heineken from a frozen pump in a frozen glass’ is one of the most popular drinks and their jukebox has to be in the top three things they love about the place.

“It has a huge range of genres on there and along with that a huge range of customer preferences! “ she said. “One minute there’s Barry Manilow and next it’s Slayer. It is comical to have such a variation but it works and we love that.”

Joanna added: “The staff are genuinely fantastic and we are confident the customers agree.

“When you’re in a pub you want to feel welcome and invited, our staff never fail to provide that service.

“They go above and beyond for both our customers and ourselves. We never take that for granted.

“We’ve always been conscious of not trying to reinvent the wheel. The great British pub is a beautiful thing in and of itself however we have made every effort to employ friendly staff who understand the culture and who make it their mission to welcome customers of all ages and walks of life. If you are willing to be part of the community, we are willing to include you! It really is that simple. It’s a pleasure to run.”