Annie Horne, licensee of Liberty’s and the Blacksheep Bar in Ryde was named as the Island’s Best Overall Licensee at this year’s Best Bar Awards held at Newclose Cricket Club on Monday.

The scheme aims to achieve higher standards of operation within licensed premises to help promote all the licensing objectives while ensuring that incidents of crime and disorder and anti-social behaviour are reduced and prevented where possible.

Yesterdays ceremony awards were presented by Cllr Susan Scoccia, Chair of the IW Council Licensing Committee and Inspector Bill Pinnell of Hampshire Police.

As well as Best Overall Licensee, they presented awards for Best Practice in Prevention of Crime and Disorder, Best Practice in Public Safety, Best Practice in Protection of Young People and Best Practice in Community Impact. Certificates were also presented to each licensee who achieved Best Bar None accreditation.

The scheme provides an opportunity for licensed premises to demonstrate how well they manage their own businesses and allows for positive dialogue between the various authorities with an opportunity to share best practice within the industry.

The nominees were assessed by a panel of judges representing the Isle of Wight Council Community Safety, Island Police and Isle of Wight College who hold courses for the National Certificate for Personal License Holders.

As Best Overall Licensee, Annie Horne will be invited to a special parliamentary reception in London with fellow winning licensees from around the country.

Speaking to the Gazette Annie Said “I am both pleased and proud to receive this prestigious award. It always takes a team to achieve best practice and I would like to thank all the staff who have made this possible, they are a credit to me and the industry.”

Cllr Susan Scoccia, Chair of the Isle of Wight Council Licensing Committee said: “The scheme is helping to build positive relationships between licensed trades, the police and the local authority. We hope to build on this year’s success by working with licensees so that even more licensed premises become Best Bar None accredited in 2011.”