A POPULAR Prestwich pub has been deemed full of community "spirit".

The Church Inn, in Church Lane, is through to the finals of Community Pub of the Year in a competition organised by pub company Unique.

Landlords Kay and Tom Gribben have been invited to a glittering awards dinner in London in October to see if their friendly approach has scooped them the top prize.

Proud Tom said: "This is the first time we have entered the competition and we have made it to the final six. We are really pleased about it and proud of the recognition."

The Gribbens have always prided themselves on providing a community pub and they try hard to make local community groups and organisations welcome. They provide rooms free of charge for groups to use and boast a traditional clientele with customers from the age of 18 to 85.

Their efforts were acknowledged by the area's business development manager for Unique, which owns the pub in place of a brewery, and he nominated them for the community pub category.

Tom added: "It's nice that this type of pub is being recognised again and it proves that we are not all loud venues.

"We have different generations here and host groups like the Lions, the Heritage Society, Prestwich Business Forum and OAPs."

The couple will not know the results of the competition until the night of the awards but if they win the £2,000 prize money they intend to spend it on the community.