<Transcription>

When your local has praises like this to sing, who needs a juke box?

Old fashioned inn is named best in Britain

Landlord refuses to be swayed by fashion

Last Updated: 2:50am GMT 15/02/2008

There is no juke box, no pool table, no fruit machine and definitely no "theme". It does not even serve chips. All of which helps to explain why the Old Spot Inn in Dursley, Gloucestershire, has won the 2008 Pub of the Year award from the Campaign for Real Ale.

Steve Herbert, the licensee, has spent the week breaking the news to his regulars. "We call it the pub of a thousand locals," he said. "And you have to tell all of them because if they hear it from someone else they will feel left out."

The Old Spot Inn has been successful by refusing to follow fashion. Mr Herbert said: "Although we do food during the week we would never call ourselves a gastropub. Our drinkers come first, which is why the food stops at 8pm during the week and we don't serve it at all on Friday and Saturday evenings. We don't do chips either because there's nothing I hate more than stepping into a pub and being hit by the smell of grease."

Belinda, Mr Herbert's wife, cooks while he pulls the pints, which come from about ten local breweries.

Unlike many pubs the Old Spot benefited when the smoking ban was introduced last year. Mr Herbert said: "We were already at capacity and when we put up a covered, heated smoking area in the garden all the smokers went out there so we had room inside for 100 more drinkers."

The Old Spot Inn used to be a run-down Whitbread pub called the Fox and Hounds. The 100-year-old pub was bought and restored by Ric Sainty in 1993. The Herberts have been running it since Mr Sainty and his wife, Ellie, retired in 2001. Mr Sainty may no longer be pulling pints but he is far from forgotten. One of the regular beers from the nearby Uley Brewery is called Old Ric in his honour.

Julian Hough, pubs director for the Campaign for Real Ale (Camra) and one of the judges, said: "The Old Spot Inn is a great example of how successful a well-run community pub can be. Steve and Belinda are dedicated to maintaining the local character of the pub."

So could other pubs benefit from the Old Spot's example? Mr Herbert is unequivocal. "It is going to be a hard year for a lot of publicans," he said. "The smoking ban has hit trade and the price of materials, from barley to fuel, is going up. When times are tough the answer is to work smarter, not harder."

Members of Camra from across Britain visited thousands of pubs before selecting 16 regional winners. Four of these were put forward for the national final. The other three were the Blue Peter Hotel in Kirkcolm, Stranraer, the Land of Liberty, Peace and Plenty in Heronsgate, near Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire, and the Turk's Head in St Helens, Merseyside.

Visit the article at The Times Online Reproduced courtesy of The Times. Friday 15th February 2008.