A Ludlow restaurant has been named as one of the top ten in the country.

The Merchant House came seventh in this year's Harden's UK Restaurant Guide.

It is another in a long list of accolades for its owner Sean Hill.

He was recently named the Chef's Chef of the Year and The Merchant House was earlier this year named as one of the world's top 20 restaurants.

Michelin stars

Mr Hill is one of the people responsible for helping Ludlow attain its status as a gastronomic centre.

The town boasts more Michelin-starred restaurants than anywhere else in the country, outside London.

As well as The Merchant House, Hibiscus and Mr Underhill's have attained the same status.

The town also has a yearly food festival which is attended by thousands of people.

But the first entrepreneurs who saw the potential of Ludlow as a gastronomic centre were John and Lesley Mackley, whose shop Batterie de Cuisine helped pave the way in the 1980s for what was to come later.