A SKIPTON pub landlord is over the moon after his pub was named best in Yorkshire this week.

Calvin Dow, landlord of The Castle Inn, received the accolade at Monday's annual Welcome to Yorkshire White Rose Awards held at the Yorkshire Event Centre, Harrogate.

Mr Dow, who was nominated by his bank manager, said: "I'm ecstatic. I had no idea how big and prestigious the awards were. It's all a bit overwhelming."

In addition, The Coniston Hotel at Coniston Cold was named best large hotel and the Angel Inn at Hetton was named best restaurant with rooms.

Gary Verity, chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, said: "It's been an historic year for Yorkshire and our county's profile as a destination has never been higher.

"Our awards are our way of recognising and celebrating how amazing our tourism businesses are and every single winner should be incredibly proud."

Around 1,000 people attended the awards ceremony, which saw winners named for 16 categories, including visitor attractions and caravan parks.

The awards are the biggest of their kind in the country and have been running for more than 25 years.