A Suffolk pub has been named runner-up in a prestigious national competition, for making a big impact on the local community it serves.

The Swan Inn, in Monks Eleigh, was one of just five hostelries across the UK to be included as finalists in the Britvic community pub challenge.

When their village shop was forced to close, the Swan’s owners Carol and Nigel Robson donated a barn next to the pub which became a community shop staffed by volunteers. The couple attended a ceremony in London yesterday, where they discovered they had narrowly missed out on the top £1,000 prize. Mrs Robson said: “We are so happy to get this far in the competition. It’s a feather in the cap of the whole community.”