TOP of the tree! That's the Pack Horse pub in Birtle which emerged as the joint winner in the JW Lees Best Christmas Pub award.

The brewery had searched its estate of 175 pubs to find the hostelry that put the most effort into its Christmas celebrations.

A crack team from the company visited every pub in turn and judged them on their Christmas decorations, ambience and dedication to the Christmas spirit.

JW Lees managing director, Mr William Lees-Jones said: "Everyone loves a 'Christmassy' pub and we wanted to reward those that had made a real effort."