THE Royal Oak in the village of Bovingdon Green, Marlow has been awarded the Good Pub Guide’s Dining Pub of the Year in Buckinghamshire for the fourth consecutive year.

The pub was praised by the judges as a "civilised dining pub with a nice little bar, a fine choice of wines by the glass, real ales, good service, and excellent food".

The Royal Oak was taken on by David and Becky Salisbury in June 2000 and is part of their four strong pub group, comprising three pubs in Buckinghamshire and one in Hertfordshire.

The husband and wife team are thrilled with the award.

David said: "We are obviously delighted with any award, but one which says the word pub in it is even more important to us. As no matter how good our food and service is, we don’t run restaurants with bars - we run pubs, albeit rather good ones."

Becky added: "We can’t forget the food though. It is hugely important to us that not only do we buy produce well, but we buy locally. This keeps profits local and these suppliers are more than likely to be a strong element of your customer base as well."

The Salisburys’ company, which employs some 100 staff across its estate, was also awarded Pub Group of the Year. Editors of the Good Pub Guide commended the couples’ "extraordinary skill and brilliant organisation," and described Salisbury Pubs as an "outstanding example."