Retired licensee is crowned community champ
A former licensee who has continued showing his commitment to the trade has been crowned the winner in an Everards competition.
Patrick Thurlby from Bakewell beat off 15 other finalists to win the Tiger Best Bitter Support Your Local Hero contest.
Patrick, 73, impressed judges, who were looking for community champions, by running a host of events at his local - the Lathkil Hotel in Over Haddon near Bakewell.
He comperes quizzes, organises raffles and runs events such as whisky tasting nights.
He said: "I'm absolutely delighted to be named Tiger Best Bitter's local hero. The support from the community was fantastic and I'm really grateful to every single person that took the time to vote. I understand votes came in from as far afield as France, New Zealand and Australia!"
Patrick picked up £500 and £500 for his chosen charity, but he has donated all the money to the Weston Park Hospital Cancer Charity and Ashgate Hospice.
Erika Hardy, marketing manager for Everards, which brews Tiger, said: "We had a tremendous response to our search for a local hero and people voted in their thousands for their most deserving winner.
"Patrick can truly be described as a pillar in his community and that is exactly what we were looking for. We knew pubs were the ideal hunting ground for unearthing such heroic achievers."
Patrick will also be given the opportunity to see Tiger Best Bitter being brewed with up to 11 friends at Everards' Castle Acres brewery in Leicester.
