A village pub on the edge of Preston has been honoured as the best community pub for the second year in a row.
AdvertisementThe Wheatsheaf in Woodplumpton won the Heart of the Community Award, beating 1,100 other pubs in the process.
Taken on by Pete Robinson and Ness Wilkinson in 2013 the pub is now the only remaining business in the village.
The pub, owned by Star pubs, has seen a new lick of paint in the last year both inside and out.
Pete and Ness also support a lot of Woodplumpton institutions and events, such as the annual fete.
They have also taken on being the Post Office after the Woodplumpton Road one closed.
Pete said: “We gave up a happy life in Yorkshire to take on The Wheatsheaf and have worked tremendously hard to revive it.
“It’s absolutely brilliant to be recognised; we see it as an award for the whole community who’ve supported us every step of the way. If we get a rush of customers, they jump in to help us on the bar or wash pots in the kitchen and when the cellar flooded this year, one of the regulars had it pumped out within hours!”
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Judges were also impressed by the charity work the pub does, from raising £1,600 for Derian House hospice to launching an appeal to raise £1,000 to bring two Chernobyl children on holiday to the village.
Managing director of Star Pubs and Bars Lawson Mountstevens said: “The Wheatsheaf is the gold standard by which community pubs should be measured providing vital services, support and a centre for village life. Pete and Ness are totally dedicated to Woodplumpton and nothing much happens in the village which doesn’t involve The Wheatsheaf.”
Do you drink in The Wheatsheaf? What do you think about the award? Let us know in the comments below