IT is the Hampshire pub which is a cut above the rest.

The King’s Head in Hursley has been named the Best Pub in Hampshire in the National Pub and Bar Awards for a second year in a row.

Landlord, Mark Thornhill said: “To win Pub & Bar Magazine’s Best in Hampshire last year was simply fantastic, to receive the award for the second-year running is just amazing!

“Credit goes to our incredible team at The King’s Head.

“We cannot thank Pub & Bar Magazine enough.”

Mark and wife Penny were previously working America, where they cut their teeth in hospitality from 2003-2009.

The watering hole has been awarded a multitude of awards over the past two years.

Those include Team of The Year by Eat Out Awards 2016, Most Delightful Country Bar and Restaurant in Winchester by LUX in their 2016 Hospitality Award as well as being awarded a coveted AA Rosette and being declared an AA 4 Star Silver Inn.

The National Pub & Bar Awards has announced the best pubs and bars from each county across the United Kingdom.

Its name stems from the village’s close connections to Oliver Cromwell whose son Richard owned the Hursley estate from 1649 to 1718.

The first coaching inn was built on the site of the King’s Head in the early 1800s, before the Hursley Estate was owned by the Heathcote family and then the Baxendales.

Pictures of the Spitfire are dotted throughout the pub, as Hursley House was once the control centre of the Spitfire programme in World War Two.

In total, 94 venues from England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have been selected as the best in their county, and will now make their way to the National Pub & Bar Awards grand finale at BAFTA in London on May 23.

At the final, the 94 County Winners will be in the running to be named the best in their region. The overall winner of the National Pub & Bar of Year will also be announced.