Nick and Wendy Harrop from the Ranken Arms, said: “To get enough public votes to reach the top six out of 52 pubs is a great feeling, it proves people approve of what we are doing and we pledge to continue to do it!

“We are so grateful for those who voted and shared, we have such a loyal customer base who we appreciate and want to do well for!

“It would mean a lot to win the Pub of the Year because it’s a true public vote, a win fair and square, we hope our voters get behind us again in this second round of voting.”

Wendy and Nick are a mum and son duo and between them they have been in the pub for over four years and they have seen changes in that time.

Wendy said: “One thing we’ve added warmth and a welcoming atmosphere from the moment you walk in the door and we are most proud of making the the Ranken the beating heart of our village as it once was.

“We think we are a pub made for everyone and anyone, families, couples, workmates, groups of friends.

“We go from chilled out food and drink venue during the week to a locals hang out on a Friday, a party place on Saturday with our live entertainment and then a Sunday roast spot for families come the end of the week.

“We have menu full of classic Ranken dishes, with weekly specials. It’s hard to choose what our best dish is! The stats say our most popular is our Salt & Pepper Crispy Chicken with Hand Cut chips and mixed salad with a cold pint of Birda Moretti.”

In terms of continuing to develop, the pair said there could be improvements in store.

“Nothing is perfect, We are forever searching for things to improve on, whether it be sourcing new glassware or new local talent for our party nights.”

In the voting process to get to the top six our readers and punters praised the Ranken for ‘having a warm feeling’ as well as being ‘dog friendly’.

Nick and Wendy were delight and added: “The atmosphere and ambiance is something that we look for personally as customers when dining or drinking out - accent lighting and a warm greeting from the ourselves or our team is something that is so important to our customer experience.

“Having our pub dog Eric we love being dog friendly - it attracts walkers and locals who don’t want to leave their pets at home alone.

“We have a section which is for guests without dogs in case of allergies or fears.”

So we asked Wendy what was the best thing about the Ranken and she came up with a simple answer.

“Our clientele, we are so lucky to have such lovely customers who appreciate what we are doing.”

The pair have a great history of serving people - Wendy used to run the dress agency in Ewood while Nick was a hospitality manager at the a large events venue in Manchester.

Wendy singled out praise for their staff for getting them to be recognised.

“We couldn’t do it without them and they are grafters. We are very lucky to have such a hard working, friendly team.”