Pub scoops community award

It is the latest in an array of awards the family run pub has received in recent years and brings the total to 14.

Owners Mick and Sue Darcy have donated thousands of pounds to local charities and good causes over the years and hold a special party each year for seniors in the village which includes a three course meal and entertainment.

The pub’s adjoining field has been offered for charity events such as a rally for the Armed Forces bikers charity.

The pub also arranged a visit from the Rother Responders team, who showed people how to save lives.

Regular boot-sales on the field and the big annual bonfire event, with the Robin Hood Bonfire Society, substantially add to funds generated for the community.

Those to benefit have included the village hall, primary school, parish church, flower show, Sara Lee Trust and the Pett Level Rescue Boat.

But it is the little things that make the pub such a community asset. Sue regularly picks up shopping or prescriptions for elderly people in the village.

Mick said: “We have one elderly gentleman, who lives over the road, who comes in every day at a regular time. If he is late or doesn’t show up, we go over to check he is alright.”

The pub has recently undergone refurbishments including an expanded light and airy extension to the dining room and a state-of-the-art wooden play fort in the garden for children.

The Robin Hood boasts an ever-changing array of real ales, many of them from small local breweries, and always has one beer on at a cheaper price.

It has a good reputation for food, particularly its Sunday lunches and Friday fish and chip suppers.