TWO of the county's pubs are celebrating a double award this month for their first rate ale.

Real ale campaigners in the Richmond area have voted the Nag's Head, in Pickhill, near Thirsk, as their Pub of the Season, for autumn 2002.

The award, from Camra, the Campaign for Real Ale, recognises the pub's work in promoting high quality traditional cask-conditioned beers for more than 20 years. Licensee Edward Boynton, who has run the Nag's Head for 30 years with his brother, Raymond, is delighted to receive the title.

He said: "It is always pleasing when someone picks you out as a top pub and we take pride in the ale that we sell here. We were one of the first to sell the local Hambleton Ales, as well as offering Black Sheep, from Masham, and a Scottish ale called Deuckars."

John Quinn, chairman of the local Camra branch, said: "The Nag's Head has consistently championed the cause of real ale and the licensees are to be congratulated on the way they have achieved a tremendous combination of a first class food establishment and a true village pub."

A previous winner of the Pub of the Season award, Northallerton's Tithe Bar, has gained regional recognition by taking the runner-up spot in the Yorkshire Pub of the Year competition, run by Camra.

Its success is a massive achievement for the owners, Market Town Taverns, and for the Northallerton area.

The company's managing director, Ian Fozard, said: "This is a fantastic accomplishment, considering we have only been open for 12 months.

"To come second shows that the quality of our beer is first class."