PUBS in Newport and Abergavenny have won awards for their outstanding quality and choice of ales on offer.

The Lamb at Bridge Street was named as the town pub of the year while the Clytha Arms in Abergavenny was named as the 2015 country pub of the year by the Gwent branch of CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale.

The group praised the Lamb's outstanding quality and choice of real ales on offer, the pub’s welcoming environment, its community involvement and its value-for-money.

Will Pannell, manager of the Lamb, said: “It’s a fantastic achievement and a real team effort from all the staff.

“We’ve really pushed our real ales and it’s great to be awarded that accreditation.

“The pub’s become a solid spot for everyone to come.”

The country pub of the year award for the Clytha Arms highlights the consistent quality and extensive range of real ales on offer for a pub that has now scooped this major award four times in the last decade.

Licensee Andrew Canning said: “All our team here are delighted to win this award.

“We really enjoy being able to provide customers with so many distinctive beers from some of Britain’s great family breweries, such as Robinsons and Adnams, and from the growing number of smaller breweries that have emerged in recent years, many of them here in south Wales.”

Last month, CAMRA also listed the Clytha Arms and the Lamb as two of the UK’s Top 200 local pubs of the year 2015.

Chris Gillette, chairman of the Gwent CAMRA branch, said: “We are fortunate in Gwent to have a growing number of ambitious and innovative small breweries and the Lamb showcases their ales very effectively.

“We were also impressed by the good value, the warm welcome and the pub’s involvement with the broader local community at the Clytha Arms.

“In the Clytha we have one of Wales’ truly outstanding country pubs.”