Flemyng hands over cash to London's best-loved local

Film star and South London licensee Jason Flemyng has handed over the £8,500 top prize in the Stella Artois Love Your Local contest to the Churchill Arms in Kensington, London.

Licensee Gerry O'Brien also received a plaque to display in the pub after hundreds of his customers nominated the Churchill for the award.

The £8,500 prize consists of a £5,000 bursary to improve the community environment of the pub, £1,500 towards a staff reward for their hard work and £2,000 towards a holiday for the publican.

Three runners-up - the Nightingale in Balham, the George in Stepney and the Punch Tavern on Fleet Street - each receive a £1,500 bursary and £1,500 towards a staff event, with each licensee picking up £2,000 towards a holiday.

Judges - including The Publican's​ managing editor Daniel Pearce and Charles Campion, the Evening Standard's​ food critic - visited 10 pubs shortlisted for the award, after 5,000 pub customers voted for their local.

Campion said: "The local pub should be the heart of any community and it was great to see so many pubs working so hard and achieving so much".