PUB of the Year is back.

Today the Evesham Journal begins the search for the town’s most popular watering hole for 2019.

Voted for by the public, the aim is to find the most popular pub in Evesham while also celebrating the many fantastic watering holes in our town.

Last year hundreds of pub-goers supported their favourite establishments and we were inundated with votes. Volunteer run The Queen Elizabeth Inn in Main Road took the prize, with Neil Lavender-Jones from the pub saying the success was testament to hard working staff.

Voting for the 2019 title is now open and closes on Friday, December 20, so use the slip in today’s newspaper to name your favourite pub and tell us why it deserves to win.

The winning landlord will receive a Pub of the Year 2019 trophy and be invited to the Houses of Parliament by the town’s MP Nigel Huddleston.

The MP said: “I am delighted to be supporting the competition to celebrate the huge contribution that our amazing pubs make to the communities around them.”

Evesham Journal editor Michael Purton added: “The Pub of the Year competition is about highlighting the importance of pubs in their community just as much as crowning a winner.

“We want to make sure we champion the fantastic community pubs in Evesham, to help them survive and bring in more customers.”

Anyone can vote, whether a member of staff or a loyal customer, but we will only accept slips cut out from the newspaper as votes, not photocopies.

We’ll be profiling some of the town's pubs and those put forward for the award in the newspaper and on our website for the next seven weeks, until voting closes.

The voting slip will be published on the Pub of the Year page each week. The winner will be announced in the newspaper and on our website on Christmas Eve.

If you’d like your pub to be featured email michael.purton@newsquest.co.uk.