The Pandora Inn is in the running to be named best pub in England after making it through to the finals of the VisitEngland Awards for Excellence.

The Pandora, at Restronguet Creek, is a finalist in the tourism pub of the year category but will have to wait until May 12 to find out which award they will receive.

All finalists are guaranteed to receive either a gold, silver, bronze or highly commended award at the ceremony held at Cheltenham Racecourse.

Since being completely gutted by a fire in 2011 and reopening a year later the Pandora Inn, which is managed by Catherine and Lester Croft, has cemented its position as one of the best pubs in the region.

Head chef Tom Milby has worked hard to gain the pub a strong reputation for food, and in January the pub scooped the title of South West Tourism Pub of the Year, as well as being named Cornwall Life’s gastropub of the year in December 2013.

John Milan and Steve Bellman, landlords of the Pandora Inn, said: “We are absolutely thrilled that the Pandora is being recognised at a national level for its excellent food, welcoming atmosphere and the contribution it makes to the tourism industry in Cornwall.

“Catherine, Lester, Tom and all the team have done a fantastic job running the pub and putting so much effort into making it a success, and we all have our fingers crossed for the awards ceremony in May.”

The VisitEngland Awards attracted 368 applications for the 2014 awards – an increase of 15 per cent on 2013.

James Berresford, chief executive of VisitEngland, said: “We receive hundreds of applications each year of an extremely high standard, so it is a tremendous achievement for The Pandora to become a finalist and to represent the top five in their category in England.”