A CARING Chorley pub makes sure it looks after its community - in style.

Now its good deeds have resulted in it being nominated for a national community pub award.

The Roebuck Inn, Waterhouse Green, Whittle-le-Woods, is in the running for £21,000 in prize money, which will be dished out to good causes nominated by pub licensees and their customers throughout the UK.

When a group of 60 Whittle-le-Woods pensioners were invited to a free Christmas party at the pub, licensees June and Peter Cookson, arranged for them to be transported by chauffeur-driven Rolls Royce!

June said: "It was wonderful to see the look of surprise and delight on their faces. The party gave many of the pensioners a chance to get out and meet friends they hadn't seen in ages."

In addition, generous Roebuck regulars helped raise more than £4,000 for a variety of local causes in the past year, the majority of the cash going to the Baby Beat appeal to buy a monitor for Sharoe Green Maternity Unit.

Regional judging panels will select 11 winners from across the UK. Each pub will receive £1,000 to be donated to the pub's favourite good causes and go forward for final judging by a celebrity panel chaired by Richard Thorp, better known as pub landlord Alan Turner from TV soap Emmerdale.

The overall winner will be presented with a cheque for £10,000 at a glittering awards dinner in London this spring.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.