THE MP for Richmondshire and Northallerton has officially opened a pub’s bee-keeping facilities.

Rishi Sunak opened three new facilities at the The George and Dragon pub at Hudswell, near Richmond in North Yorkshire.

The MP celebrated, along with pub directors and members of the nearby community, the expansion of the pub’s bee colonies, the creation of a small woods and the construction of fully-accessible toilets.

Mr Sunak said: “The George and Dragon has been phenomenally successful and it is so commendable that the pub’s community owners have not rested on their laurels but have continued to find ways to make it even better.

“The Hudswell pub project has been and continues to be pioneering and shows the way for the community pub sector which I am pleased to say is thriving both here in North Yorkshire but also nationally.”

The pub has been operated by Stuart and Melissa Miller for the past five years, but remains owned by the Hudswell Community Pub.

The pub recently celebrated being voted Pub of the Year by CAMRA on a national level in 2016, and in Yorkshire in 2017 and 2018.

Martin Booth, secretary of the Hudswell Community Pub, said: “It’s very important to Hudswell Community Pub that, as a community pub, everyone should be able to use our facilities.”