THE Tom Cobley Tavern in Spreyton has been voted the Regional Pub of the Year by CAMRA for the third time.

Back in the spring, the Exeter and Mid Devon branch of the Campaign for Real Ale voted the Tom Cobley to be their pub of the year, clinching the award for the seventh time in eight years. They retain the title as branch champion, having won in 2011.

Since then, CAMRA judges continued the process, and voted the tavern to be the South West CAMRA Regional Pub of the Year. This is the third time the pub has won the title, having also clinched the prize in 2006 and 2008.

This makes the Tom Cobley one of 16 pubs now vying for the national title. It marks another good year for the pub, which was also voted the Devon Life Best Community Pub of the Year 2012.

Landlords Roger and Carol Cudlipp and their daughter Lucy were presented with a certificate to recognise their achievement by CAMRA regional director Ian Packham.

Roger said: 'It puts us back on the map again, it's all happening again with the CAMRA award and the award from Devon Life. These things do well for trade and give us a nice boost just before the Christmas season.

'I think there's no secret to our success, just sheer hard work, 24/7. You have got to be individual and do things our way, and that seems to work and make people happy.

'We just do the simple things like making sure the ales taste good, that we do good food, keeping the place clean, making it friendly, and that seems to be the trick. It's all about running a good house, simple as that.'

CAMRA was formed in 1971 to campaign for real ale, community pubs and consumer rights. Since its formation in 1971 the campaign has grown to have 138,444 members across the globe.