They are places that pride themselves on serving up a great pint of beer, cooking delicious Sunday roasts, organising charity events and being part of their Norfolk communities.

And now these five pubs across south Norfolk are the toast of their customers after being named as the best community pubs in the district.

The Green Dragon Tavern in Wymondham, The Bush in Costessey, Water's Edge at Bramerton, The Burston Crown and the Fox and Hounds in Great Moulton were named yesterday as the five neighbourhood winners of the South Norfolk Community Pub of the Year awards, following a public vote which saw 49 of the district's pubs nominated with 549 votes cast.

The competition is run by South Norfolk Council and is the only type of its award in the country.

While the five pub landlords and owners were celebrating their area success, they now have a wait to see which will be crowned the overall winner and clinch the title of the best community pub in south Norfolk.

Yesterday the competition's panel of judges visited each of the five pubs to decide which establishment will be crowned the best in the district at an awards ceremony next month.

The judges were made up of council deputy leader Martin Wilby, competition chairman and councillor for Hempnall Alison Thomas, Clayton Hudson who is the council's portfolio holder for stronger communities and leisure, Terry Stork, the regional representative for the Pub is The Hub, and Anthony Carroll, the EDP's community editor for the south Norfolk area.

They judged the pubs on five criteria - facilities/accessibility, welcome/feel/ambience, kerb appeal, sense of community and finally food and drink selection.

The overall winner will be given £500 to use for community funding. Last year's winner was the Crown Inn in Pulham Market.

Are you organising a community event in the south Norfolk area? Email reporter Anthony Carroll at anthony.carroll@archant.co.uk