LIVE music has put one Forest Pub on the map, after being commended as one of the best music pubs in all of the west country.

Not that Mario Constantinides, the ukulele-playing landlord of the Miner's Arms in Whitecroft found out until well after the awards ceremony – his notification having vanished in the post.

The commendation from the Great British Pub Awards comes after a string of recommendations ranging from the Guardian newspaper to real ale campaign group CAMRA.

Mario, who's run the pub with wife, Karen, for barely two years, said: "We're now attracting people from far afield, they're coming from London, Bristol, all over, especially for the 'open mic' sessions which are absolutely massive. I've even got one regular from Leicestershire, who brings me cheese. I like cheese, although I've got quite a lot of it now."

Playing host to a jazz club, blues club, folk club, rock musicians, open mic sessions, the odd festival not to mention serving up food is somewhat at odds with the couple's aims when they first bought the Miner's Arms.

"The idea was we were looking to a sort of semi-retirement at a quiet little country club," says Mario, who has a background in the music business. "But I started playing ukulele, jammed with some musicians, the folk club were already booked in, and it's just grown from there".