A pub has been crowned the most outstanding of the year.

The Rose and Crown in Worthing was given the accolade during the Craft Union Pub Company’s Operator Awards 2022.

Chris Hodge, operator of the Rose and Crown, has recently celebrated 25 years at the helm of the business and was described as a “valued member” of the Craft Union family.

During his time at the pub, he has supported many community causes, such as founding a veterans society and providing lots of entertainment to bring the community together.

“I am honoured to have won Craft Union’s award for most outstanding pub of the year,” he said.

“This means so much to the team and I as we put our all into everything we do to ensure our customers have the best time possible during their visit.

“A huge thank you goes to all of our customers, who continually support us, we would not be where we are today without you.

“It is great being a part of the Craft Union family and I would like to thank everyone that we have the pleasure of working with.”

The operator awards recognise the best of the best across the company and celebrates the hard work of operators carried out over the last year across all its sites.

The winners spanned across ten categories from best sales to pub of the year.

Nick Andrews, managing director of Stonegate Pub Partners, said: “Congratulations to all of our Operators who won awards at this year’s Operator Awards, you should be very proud of all of your efforts and hard work.

“Our operators work so hard in making their pubs brilliant and doing all they can to be involved with their communities, it is great to see the Craft Union philosophy being displayed.

“We do our utmost to support all involved with Craft Union from running a successful local business to personal development. As our teams grow, we are excited to see all the amazing work that will be carried out at our pubs across the country.”