A restaurant owner and his team have expressed their delight after picking up a national award for their work.

Abdul Hannan's The Pavilion restaurant in Astley Bridge was a winner in the "Best Restaurant" category at this year's Curry Life Awards.

The prize was announced at an event on Sunday, October 13 at the London Marriott Hotel Grosvenor Square in Mayfair.

Speaking after the ceremony, Abdul said: "This is the first time we’ve entered an awards competition - we said nothing ventured, nothing gained and we’re very excited to have won.

"We’ve been doing what we do now for the last 27 years - cooking quality dishes with fresh ingredients for many of our loyal customers.

"If I didn’t still enjoy it, I wouldn’t be here. It’s all about job satisfaction."

Speaking after the 15th annual Curry Life awards ceremony, Curry Life Media group editor, Syed Belal Ahmed, said: "A major aim of the awards has always been to highlight best practice going on across the country – so that everyone has the opportunity to learn from the best - something that has always been a driving principle behind Curry Life itself.

“Over the many years we have been staging the awards, we have seen major improvements in standards and quality being offered to customers, to the point where several restaurants are now in a position to challenge for accolades such as Michelin stars.”

The awards event is an annual celebration of British curry houses, which have an annual turnover of over £4bn.

Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Wes Streeting, said: “Congratulations to everyone for their success at these awards.

"The hospitality industry has an enormous contribution to make to our country.

"But there’s something more fundamental about what the hospitality industry does, and what curry houses across the country do, which is about bringing people together, making connections and creating communities.

"It’s about making sure our high streets are thriving, and where people want to spend time and money and enjoy family and friendship.

"In the budget and beyond we will be doing everything that we can not just to support our large businesses, but to support our SMEs too.”

The Curry Life Awards are sponsored by Cobra Beer, WorkPermitCloud, Unisoft and Hillside Travels.