Valerie and John Pascoe at their award-winning pub

The Swan in Little Totham, Essex, was voted the Campaign for Real Ale's (Camra) UK Pub of the Year.

John Pascoe, 57, a former motor trade salesman, said its success was down to its community links and the beer, which is served directly from casks.

"Beer is a living product and it is something you cannot hurry. It has got to be prepared properly," he said.

Mr Pascoe, who bought the pub with wife Valerie in 1996, said involvement with the community was crucial to its success.

"We really threw ourselves into the village to make sure the pub was the centre of everything," he said.

"For instance we have worked very closely with the church which now has all its social activities here.

"You can certainly make a success of a village pub but your whole heart has to be in it."

The accolade marks Camra's first National Pubs Week - an effort to get more people to visit their local.