A HOLMFIRTH pub has been hailed as one of the best real ale outlets in Yorkshire for 30 years.

The Rose and Crown - known locally as The Nook - off Victoria Square, has achieved the distinction of appearing in all of the last 30 editions of the national Good Beer Guide.

The traditional, family-run pub is the only one in the county to merit the honour from Camra, the Campaign for Real Ale.

The Nook has been run by two generations of the same family over the last 41 years.

Former landlord David Roberts is credited with creating a laid-back style for the pub.

Huddersfield Camra member Bob Tomlinson said: "He believed in simplicity, traditional ale and no pub meals, saying beer drinking and food did not mix.

"The only foods he allowed were packets of crisps and nuts."

David's son, Ian, and daughter Sheila Sutton have carried on the good work since their father died in 2000.

Mr Tomlinson added: "The Nook featured in the first Kirklees Good Beer Guide in 1975.

"David's skill in serving a fine pint of real ale earned The Nook a place in the 1976 national Good Beer Guide, with the one-line description of `an unpretentious free house' ."

Camra branch chairman David Lyall presented Ian, Sheila and David's widow, Angela, with a certificate acknowledging the 30- year achievement, along with a special-commissioned stained-glass plaque.