LANDLORDS Neil and Cassandra Monkman have won a top award for transforming their Elland pub.
Neil, 34, and Cassandra, 39, took over The Great House at Elland in February. Since then, they have transformed the pub from a neglected shell to a warm, friendly family pub.
To mark the change, they have renamed it The Fleece - which was its name before it became The Great House in September 1997.
For their efforts, the couple were given the Newcomer Of The Year Award in the Union Pub Company's annual ceremony at the Botanical Gardens in Birmingham. The awards were given out by TV presenter Nick Ross.
Neil said: "It is our first pub. We don't own it, we just lease it from the Union Pub Company.
"Their area manager Peter Creamer and regional manager Harvey Nurse have been brilliant and really helped us."
The couple have enjoyed their first taste of pub success so much that they have leased another - Squire Hardcastle's on Zetland Street in Huddersfield, which opened yesterday.
They have brought in two of their former staff as managers but will remain in overall charge.
