The Black Bull Inn in East Halton shortlisted for National Pub Awards final

Steve was nominated by Black Bull owner, Stephen Gorwood, in the Community Fundraising Hero category and his entry has seen competition from almost 1000 other pubs nationwide.

This Community Fundraising Award Hero recognises pubs and their regulars who support charities and other good causes through fundraising. This is not just judged on the amount of money raised, but on how it was done.

Two other pubs, The Railway Inn and The Half Moon Inn Thorpe on the Hill, Lincoln and Willingham By Stow, Gainsborough respectively have also been shortlisted.

The pub was shortlisted because Steve James, an exceptional community fundraiser, organised a Tractor Run in memory of a local farmer’s son tragically killed in a farming accident. The event raised £18,500 for charities, benefiting bereaved families and the Air Ambulance. Steve’s commitment shines, and he plans a second annual tractor run to honour another beloved individual. This nomination was submitted without the nominee’s knowledge.

On his nomination, Steve said: “I have been involved with organising Charity Tractor Runs for the last couple of years or so. In 2022 we raised £10’000 for Lindsey Lodge Hospice which is local to us and close to many people’s hearts, I then organised a tribute to a close friend Willie Bell who was also involved in some of the Tractor Runs that we did locally so it was a fitting tribute that I got all his friends together on Tractors to follow the funeral procession to and from the church and then to the wake at his local pub which he would have loved.

“Following this I was asked to do something for Tom Reeve who had sadly passed away from a tragic farming accident during lockdown. They were unable to have many people at the funeral or have a wake so they felt that they couldn’t say goodbye to him properly. I organised a Charity Tractor Run in memory of Tom starting at the family farm in East Halton and finishing at the Black Bull, which was Tom’s local.

“We had a beautiful day with lovely sunshine and so many people turned out to support us with over 70 Tractors and even an Army Tank taking part. There were hundreds of people lining the streets cheering us on and donating. We raised a Total of £18,500 which was split between Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance and Jen’s Special Place a bereavement charity for children who have lost parents.

“I am truly humbled and honoured to be nominated for this award it really is such a lovely thing to be done for me I really wasn’t expecting this and when Stephen told me I was shocked and lost for words it really is such a lovely gesture and I am so looking forward to coming to London to meet everyone and am truly thankful I really am

“I really would love to bring this back to the Black Bull at East Halton to give something back to everyone within the local community that helped make this day the success that it was and it would mean so much to Tom’s wife and kids and to all of his family and all of his friends too.”

The winners will be announced at an award ceremony, sponsored by Matthew Clark, at the Houses of Parliament on 5 March and all shortlisted pubs are invited to attend along with industry leaders and MPs.

Des O’Flanagan, co-founder of PubAid, added: “We launched these awards to celebrate the great work that pubs do for their community. The Black Bull Inn is a perfect example of how pubs support and are a hub for many people in their community. The awards are in their fifth year and the volume of entries this year was staggering. What clearly came across from reading all the entries is that there are so many publicans that are doing amazing work nationwide. It was very hard to get to a shortlist so even getting to the finals is an amazing accolade for The Black Bull Inn.

PubAid, which organises the awards in association with Matthew Clark and the All Party Parliamentary Beer Group, has refreshed the awards and created more categories to congratulate more community pubs throughout the UK. There are 33 finalists in total across five categories.