A COUPLE who took over the running of the Cross Keys in Wanborough less than a year ago have won a top newcomer award.

Darren and Kirstie Mingham fell in love with the country pub last December and since then, they have worked round the clock to make sure they become part of the village.

Last week, Devizes-based Wadworth held its annual ‘Best of the Best Awards’ which recognised the very best pubs and people from its managed and tenanted pub estates across the county.

To their complete surprise, Darren and Kirstie won a silver award in the best newcomer category.

Darren, 40 and his wife have previously worked at a number of pubs over the years but it was last year that they found an advert for the Cross Keys.

“People have been really good in accepting us and our success has come from the support of the locals in the village and in wider Swindon area as well,” he said. “We haven’t had to do much publicity because luckily a lot of it has been through word of mouth.

“We got an invite for the awards from the brewery through the post about six weeks ago to say we had been nominated for an award but we didn’t know what for so it was a shock when we won best newcomer.

“It made us feel appreciated and proud because you know you are doing well but it is nice to get that recognition from Wadworth.

“It is quite difficult sometimes with a managed house because a lot of breweries take control but with this place, we have been left to ourselves to run the place but will always have Wadworth’s backing there.”

As well as a jam-packed diary of reservations for the next month, exciting expansion plans are also on the cards for the pub next year in hope of attracting more customers.

Kirstie, 31 added: “Wanborough is quite a small village and like most other places, they don’t welcome change but since we moved in we have been building that relationship with the locals and doing things they want us to do in terms of events.”

Speaking after the glittering ceremony last Monday, Chris Welham, CEO of Wadworth, said: “The ‘Best of the Best Awards’ give us a fantastic opportunity to show our appreciation and celebrate the success of our dedicated tenanted and managed house teams. The competition is always incredibly tough but the winners have gone above and beyond to show their continued commitment to both their pubs and customers."

“The awards ceremony is always great fun and it gives us the perfect opportunity to join together with our managers, business partners and team members from across the company. I’d like to thank everyone at Wadworth for their continued hard work and dedication in making the customer count every day.”