Big night for Wolverhampton community pub after being acclaimed as a true community hub at awards ceremony

The Royal Oak in Wolverhampton won two awards at the 2025 PubAid Community Pub Hero Awards at the House of Commons on Tuesday.

The winners were announced at the award ceremony, sponsored by Matthew Clark, and all shortlisted pubs were invited to attend along with industry leaders and MPs.

Terry Cole and Keith Fulwood from the pub were at the ceremony to accept the award for being the best Community Fundraising Hero alongside Wolverhampton West MP, Warinder Juss.

They were also awarded the Outstanding Contribution to the pub industry, which was the overall award of the night. 

The pub saw competition from almost 700 entries nationwide and more than 30 finalists in the prestigious pub industry awards, now in their sixth year. 

Terry Cole said he had hoped to win the Fundraising award for the work the pub does with the Midland Freewheelers Blood Bikes, but said he was shocked to receive the final award.

He said: “We thought maybe we’re in with a chance of winning the fundraising award that we entered, and when we did, we were really chuffed with that, but to get the overall, outstanding contribution award, we were absolutely overwhelmed. 

"It’s great to be able to show how much effort we’re putting in as our charity work is a legacy that we want to leave behind.” 

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

Three other pubs in England; The Swan in Thornbury; The Nag’s Head in Dunstable and The Dam Inn in Wakefield were also shortlisted in the highly competitive category. 

The Royal Oak was voted the winner, with the judges saying they were impressed by the Marston’s pub because they tirelessly support the Midland Freewheelers Blood Bikes, a voluntary service that supports the NHS by delivering blood, samples, and medication 24 hours a day. 

The pub has bought an £18,000 motorbike for the charity and helps to raise money to maintain its full fleet of 10 bikes and three cars, while the pub’s support has enabled the charity to complete more than 6,000 jobs free of charge for the NHS and patients. 

In addition, three of its regular customers have now become fully trained Blood Bikers and one of its management team has joined as a coordinator and already completed more than 75 shifts whilst still running the pub.

The PubAid judges said: “From all tonight’s winners, one pub is recognised as this year’s overall, UK pub hero. 

"This pub was able to demonstrate how its management, employees and community have all come together year after year for a very special initiative that has become embedded in the pub’s culture and values. 

"The Royal Oak is arguably saving lives through its charitable work."

Des O’Flanagan, co-founder of PubAid, said: “We launched these awards to celebrate the great work that pubs do for their community. 

"The Royal Oak is a perfect example of how pubs and licensed premises 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 people 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 Royal Oak.”