THE owners of a pub near the town centre are celebrating after they were named Leaders of the Year at an awards ceremony.

Amanda and Danny Crilly, who run Goodwin’s Restaurant and Bar in Centre Park, scooped the prize ahead of 2,000 other restaurant managers across Europe on May 10.

Goodwin’s, which opened in October last year after a period of refurbishment, operates under the Greene King chain of restaurants, one of the biggest on the continent.

The pub was formerly known as The Waterside.

The award, won at the company’s annual awards dinner at the Hilton Hotel in Birmingham, now sits proudly on the main bar of the restaurant.

Amanda said: “To be shortlisted for the award was great, but to win it ahead of everyone else was even more fantastic.

“We were voted to win by members of our team and other people in the Greene King company, so it shows that we’ve been recognised, not just from our own senior management but right across the board.

“Our team are buzzing with the award and so are a lot of our customers.

“The feedback and comments we’ve been getting back on social media have been brilliant.

“It was a lovely occasion and a really nice conference evening, and overall, everyone’s delighted.”