The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) has awarded three pubs across the South West with a Golden Award, marking 50 years of the organisation's campaigns.

As part of its anniversary celebrations throughout 2021, CAMRA is recognising people, groups of people or businesses that have made a significant contribution to CAMRA's aims, helping us get to where we are today.

The three pubs that have been awarded across the South West area are:

British Lion, Devizes, Wiltshire - a free house with wooden floors, cosy settles and an eclectic group of talkative regulars; awarded for regularly appearing in the Good Beer Guide, and consistently pouring great pints

New Inn, Kilmington, Devon – a thatched Devon longhouse that became a pub in the early 1800s, the New Inn has appeared in 44 editions of the Good Beer Guide

Ye Olde Cider Bar, Newton Abbot, Devon - one of the few remaining true Cider Houses in the country, and a past winner of CAMRA's Cider Pub of the Year award

CAMRA's Awards Director Gary Timmins said: "I am delighted to be honouring these pubs today with a CAMRA Golden Award. 2021 is our anniversary year, and we want to take this opportunity to celebrate the successes of great British locals as well as CAMRA's achievements – we wouldn't have got far without their support!

"This anniversary comes on the heels of an incredibly difficult time for the industry after a year of lockdowns and restrictions. I hope the teams behind the winning pubs and their locals will take this award as appreciation for all the hard work involved in running the pub, over the decades and especially now. Nominations were submitted by our members and consumers, which says a lot about the support and impact they have had.

"Winners have been chosen for their successes in standing the test of time; for being convivial, characterful and community-focused, and of course for consistently pouring great pints. I applaud these pubs for their dedication, for being community stalwarts and campaigning heroes."

Michael Dearing, owner of the British Lion, said: "We are delighted and honoured to have been selected for inclusion in the annual Good Beer Guide for the latter half of CAMRA's 50 years. To be nominated for a Golden Award is the 'icing on the cake' and a credit to the staff, several of whom have been here since the 1990s. Also of course to our loyal customer base, both locals and visitors to the area."

The full successful cohort contains 32 pubs, including five that have appeared in all 48 editions of the Good Beer Guide, the longest standing community-owned pub in the country, and the current Pub of the Year title holder. Nominations for the Golden Awards were made by CAMRA members and locals. Over 240 pubs submitted were whittled down to the list of awardees.

The Golden Awards will be celebrating recipients in three different categories: 'Pubs', 'Pints', and 'People'. The winners in the 'Pints' and 'People' categories will be announced later in the year. Local presentation events are in the process of being arranged, with each pub receiving a certificate of achievement.