THE winner of the Yate area’s Pub of the Year competition is the Rose and Crown in Rangeworthy.

The village pub beat off stiff competition from the four other finalists in the contest, The Horseshoe and Beaufort Hunt in Chipping Sodbury, the Rose and Crown in Pucklechurch and The Globe in Frampton Cotterell, but has been crowned overall winner having received more than 350 votes.

Landlady Yvonne Hulbert said winning was a ‘fabulous’ achievement.

“I am speechless,” she told the Gazette on being told the Rose and Crown had won the prestigious title.

“It is fabulous that customers have taken the time to fill out a form, post it and vote for us. A lot of people said they were going to but for them to actually have done it is lovely.”

For Mrs Hulbert the win is a poignant tribute to her husband Martin, who she ran the Rose and Crown with for many years before he lost a long battle with cancer in 2013.

“It is Martin’s foundations which have helped make this possible,” she said. “We ran this place together for so long and people still talk about him all the time and still think of it as his pub.

“Our customers are part of our family here. I have tried to carry on and keep it a village pub and our customers have still supported me.”

Votes praised the Rose and Crown for its great pub food, selection of beers and ales, its links with the village and regular charity events for local causes but predominantly customers said it was Mrs Hulbert and her team who made the pub so special.

Thornbury and Yate MP Luke Hall, who supported the competition, said: “I am delighted the Rose and Crown has won Pub of the Year, it has some of the best customer service in the area and is a real village pub.

“A huge congratulations to Yvonne and the whole team.”

Mrs Hulbert will now be invited to sell her beer in the Strangers Bar in Westminster and join Mr Hall for a day in the House of Commons. The team of seven staff will be presented with a Gazette Pub of the Year trophy and Mrs Hulbert plans to hold a cream tea party for customers to celebrate the win.

She added: “It is superb. I am really proud of everyone who works here for making this possible and grateful to customers for voting.”