PUB regulars have seen their local crowned as one of the nation's cleverest boozers - thanks to a new interent competition.

From outside, The Witton Inn, Blackburn, looks pretty much like any other waterning hole.

But unlike most pubs, if you put a question to one of its regulars, there's a good chance they'd know the answer.

The Preston Old Road pub is one of the first in the area to give the internet-based National Quiz night a go.

And for two weeks running, its 20-strong pub quiz team have trumped hundreds of others around the UK to win.

Its success has astounded landlady Lesley Lomax, who helped the team into battle.

She said the pub holds its own quiz nights but its regulars wanted to pit their wits against wider opposition.

Mrs Lomax said: "We have a good mix of people taking part but the majority seem to be women, which is unusual for a pub quiz.

"With the recent smoking ban now taking its toll on the colder nights, the quiz has really helped fill our pub on what would normally be a quiet night."

Having tasted success Mrs Lomax is now keen to enter the National Quiz again.

She said: "You can win large sums of money, which will really attract people back to community pubs.

"Pub quizzes are now community social events where everyone can participate, not just egg heads, as the whole pub plays as a team.

"Even better, you can also win large sums of money, which makes the atmosphere electric.

"It can really boost trade on the quiet winter evenings, and we are determined to give it a real go in the New Year and scoop the big prize."

The quiz pits pubs from all over the country against each other to find out who is the brainiest with a series of multi choice questions through an internet connection.

National Quiz director Edwin Hamilton said: "It is an excellent example of how the quiz works to encourage people back into pubs after the smoking ban and so on because the whole pub plays."

Although the game, which now attracts hundreds of pubs nationwide, is played over the internet, cheating is virtually impossible.

Not only are response times for answers monitored but many of the questions set are designed to be difficult to research online. This means that players would struggle to use the internet to research answers before submitting them.

The average response time for the Witton's team is between four and five seconds per question.

The National Quiz is open to all players over the age of 18. Log on to www.nationalquiz.co.uk