A BEVVY of North Yorkshire hostelries have made the shortlist to find the county's best boozer.

Welcome to Yorkshire have launched their annual Yorkshire’s Favourite Pub competition and due to an unprecedented number of entries this year, the shortlist has increased to 15 contenders.

North Yorkshire pubs are given a good showing in the shortlist, with The Star at Harome, The White Swan in Ampleforth, The Royal Oak in Ripon and last year's winner, The Bull Inn at West Tanfield among those vying for the title.

Sir Gary Verity, chief executive at Welcome to Yorkshire, said: “I’m delighted so many people have joined in with our search to find Yorkshire’s Favourite Pub.

"Yorkshire is well-known for being home to some fantastic ale houses and the huge number of votes we’ve received shows just how proud people are about the great offerings in our county.

"It’s fantastic to see some former winners are still doing so well and have made it into the shortlist but there are plenty of other great names in the final 15 so it’s anyone’s game – get voting.”

Voting is now open and the winner will be awarded at a special presentation at the Great Yorkshire Show on Tuesday, July 11.

To vote for your favourite Yorkshire pub, visit www.yorkshire.com/pub