The results are in: A ‘traditional country boozer’ has been crowned the best in Farnham and Bordon constituency in a competition run by its MP.

Glasses have been raised at The Crown Inn Arford after Greg Stafford MP asked constituents to vote for the best pub in his patch.

Hundreds were cast with the homely pub near Headley coming ahead of 54 others in a “fun competition” with a subtle message.

“I didn’t restrict it to people from the constituency and 55 pubs could be voted for,” said Mr Stafford.

“Hundreds of people responded but The Crown won. There’s a fun element but this competition is also subtly highlighting the fact that people should be supporting pubs, especially with all the difficulties they face.”

The pub faced an uncertain future before Chris Baxter, Simon Davis and Anne Joint – a trio with no previous pub experience – decided to take it over in July 2024.

The three directors, coupled with their “amazing” team of staff and volunteers, have turned The Crown into a warm, friendly and much-loved local with some celebrity admirers.

“This award means a lot to us in that there’s recognition for all the efforts that the team, volunteers and staff have put in to make this a welcome community-friendly boozer,” said Mr Baxter.

“Yes, we’ve got food and a fabulous chef but we really look after the drink and put a lot of love into what we do.”

“In the year we’ve been open we’ve also raised £2,000 for the Headley Food bank, Holme School library and the RBL, plus we also won the fete scarecrow competition,” said Mr Davis in highlighting their community work.

“We’ve got a book club, a very successful band night and the three of us and everyone here does it all for the community.”