Kingston town centre’s finest drinking hotspots were awarded gongs in a celebratory evening held this week.

Bar staff, bouncers, pub and club owners turned up to find out whether they had nabbed any prizes for this year’s Best Bar None Awards, held at McCluskys in Kingston on Tuesday, January 29.

The awards, now in their seventh year in Kingston, aim to promote sensible drinking and recognise the positive contribution made to communities by responsible licensees.

Best pub winner Declan Mccullough, manager of the Druid’s Head, said: “We won the award for the first three years, but I am really surprised we won this year because there were a lot of good nominees.”

The Surrey Comet presented an award voted for by the public – won by Woody’s bar for best behind the bar staff.

Jon Bacon, general manager at the bar, said: “We just want to thank everyone for voting for us.

“This was a good thing to support in the community and for us it is all about going that extra mile and making our customers happy."

Winner Terry Finucane, McCluskys head doorman, said: “We deserved it. It is nice that doormen are appreciated because we are often forgotten and not appreciated for the good we do.

“All the door men in Kingston are pretty good so it was probably a hard decision.”

This year a record 17 drinking establishments took part in the awards organised by Kingstonfirst.

The ceremony was originally scheduled for November last year, but was postponed following the fatal stabbing of Jamie Sanderson in Oceana.

Nobody from Oceana, which received the most votes for best atmosphere from Surrey Comet readers, was present at the awards ceremony.

Ros Morgan, chief executive of Kingstonfirst, said: “I would like to congratulate all of our winners.”

l Best independent venue: Bacchus.

l Best behind the bar nominated by Surrey Comet readers: Woody’s

l Best on the door: McCluskys.

l Best pub: Druid’s Head (winner), Kings Tun (runner up).

l Best club: Hippodrome (winner), McCluskys (runner up).