WE have been overwhelmed by votes for our Pub of the Year competition, and the fantastic response shows just how much our communities value their watering holes.

Hundreds of votes have poured in for the Worcester News Pub of the Year contest, with a wide range of establishments across the city receiving support.

The pubs that have received lots of votes have all been praised for their friendliness and welcoming atmosphere, and that shows that customers value far more than just the food and drink.

That’s because pubs are community centres too. They are places where people socialise and, for some, a trip to ‘the local’ is the only conversation they get each day.

Despite all this, our pubs are under threat. They are shutting down and being turned into housing, due to a myriad of reasons including that more and more people are buying cheap alcohol to drink at home, rising rent costs and increases in ‘beer tax’.

That’s why we’re supporting our local pubs with our competition – to highlight the huge asset they are to their community.