A decade of hard work has paid off for landlord Leighton Davis with his Chippenham pub scooping the Gazette’s Pub of the Month award.

The 40-year-old has owned the Gladstone Arms in Gladstone Road since 2004 and was ecstatic to pick up the accolade.

He said: “I’m really pleased. The pub is number one for the area on Trip Advisor as well and it’s always nice to be recognised.”

In 2004 Mr Davis gave up a successful job as a retail manager to fulfil his life-long dream to run his own pub.

When he bought the pub, which was called the Borough Arms, it had been empty for months and had been broken into and vandalised. After spending thousands of pounds on refurbishments he transformed its fortunes.

For three years the pub has featured in CAMRA’s Good Beer Guide and was awarded a certificate of excellence by review website Trip Advisor.

He said: “We put all of our energy into the pub and the staff work really hard.

“This will be our tenth Christmas here so we are getting quite well known now and it’s in a great location.”

The pub has a separate restaurant area that offers a mix of classic pub grub and European dishes. Mr Davis, who grew up in Chippenham, said a good balance is what makes the pub a success.

He said: “I think people to feel at home here and enjoy the food and the bar has a modern feel to it. Some people find it difficult to get that balance but we seem to have managed.”