A WIVENHOE pub manager entered May on a high note after being presented with a Rural Pub of the Year Award during his first Real Ale Festival.

Shane Diggens, who took over management of the Black Buoy Pub last September, was presented with the achievement by the Colchester Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) in the middle of a heaving bar.

The three-day ale festival saw hundreds flock to the traditional pub where a selection of 30 ales, six ciders and perries were served up alongside a spring barbecue.

It is the second consecutive year CAMRA members have catapulted the pub to number one following its relaunch as a community pub in 2013.

Maldon and Burnham Standard:

Twenty-five-year-old Mr Diggens said: “Winning out of more than 50 pubs in the rural category was fantastic.

"The bar was rammed so the atmosphere was really good and the previous manager from the first year we won came in.

“To manage a successful pub, the biggest thing is knowing your surroundings and regulars, so you can please your clientele.

“The Black Buoy is very traditional. The biggest thing we sell are wine and ales, but the pub is also known for its food.

“Lots of people would come here just to eat so under our head chef Peter Moores, who’s brilliant and cooks everything from fresh, it’s great we’ve got back to our former glory.”