PUNTERS raised a deserved pint for the British Queen pub after it was named top customer care boozer in the east.

The awards were part of a 1,600-pub survey by Scottish and Newcastle Retail.

The Locksbottom pub was judged on 60 different categories by a team of mystery visitors.

Their critical eyes examined everything from atmosphere and the warmth of the welcome to the time it took to be served and the toilet cleanliness.

Licensees Chris Warne and Ann Cave - who moved to Locksbottom from Wales nearly three years ago - were thrilled.

Chris said: "It's a real old fashioned pub, no loud music but always a warm welcome, plenty of good conversation and great darts and football teams - just what a village pub should be."

Bodicea - the warrior queen - was believed to have been the inspiration behind the pub name and is depicted on the pub sign.

But Chris has since learnt that his watering hole was built on strawberry field and is in fact named after a variety of strawberries grown there.

With competition among pubs ever greater, Chris and Ann put their success to "simply serving our customers the way we like to be served when we're on the other side of a bar".

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