Volunteers in a Norfolk village came together to celebrate their achievements in saving their last village pub following a year-long campaign to see it remain in the community.
The team behind the Save the Blue Bell Inn project in Stoke Ferry, near Downham Market, were presented with the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) 'Pub Saving Award' on Saturday, April 16.
The annual prize recognises people who have saved a pub that would have otherwise been demolished or converted to another use.
It comes after the community bought the premises last June, having campaigned against plans for it to be converted into housing.
Villagers were determined to keep the Blue Bell in the local community after it closed in March 2018 as a result of poor trading.
They raised £280,000 to buy and renovate the building following 17 months of fundraising events, the launch of a share offer, and grants from the Plunkett Foundation and Stoke Ferry Parish Council (SFPC).
Volunteers have since been renovating the "unloved building", and plan to open the Blue Bell as a community owned pub, café and hub this year to continue a tradition of hospitality on the site dating back to 1794.
On Saturday, shareholders, villagers and families involved in the project took to the grounds to celebrate the major award and made first use of the newly-installed beer taps.
Stephen Ward, chair of Stoke Ferry Community Enterprise Limited, said: "There could be no better recognition of the community’s efforts to bring the last pub in the village back to life than this pub-saving award from CAMRA.
"People came together to fund the purchase, to renovate the building, which is now nearing completion, and to transform the grounds.
"So this is an award for the whole village."
Sue Lintern, chair of Stoke Ferry Parish Council, said: "Stoke Ferry has been energised by this project to create a pub-café that is destined to become a key community asset alongside our village hall and playing fields."
A date for the official full opening has not yet been announced but is expected soon.
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