National nod for Mirfield pub’s floral displays

Despite dreadful weather throughout the summer, the Old Colonial has won the British Heritage Pubs in Bloom Award.

Judges first chose the pub in Dunbottle Lane to represent the Yorkshire and North-East region in a nationwide final.

Then last week landlord Tim Wood got a call telling him the Old Colonial had gone on to win the national award.

He said: “It’s nice to be recognised for these sorts of things in pubs these days.”

Mr Wood said it had been hard work keeping his flowers looking their best this year, as the weather has caused problems for many local gardeners.

“Luckily we have a lot of our pots and plants in a sheltered area,” he said.

“We are often judged for our ales and we have won trophies for that. This is another string to our bow.

“We look after our flowers anyway. I just do it because I’ve got to make my pub look nice. I don’t do it for any other reason.”