'˜We couldn't do this without our customers!' - Leighton Buzzard's Black Lion wins KidsOut award

Pub landlords Nikki Brodin, Stev Stipanovic and their team were thrilled to be given the KidsOut Community Supporter of the Year trophy when the charity visited the High Street pub this October to make the surprise announcement.

Nikki and Stev have been at The Black Lion for nearly five years, having supported the charity for disadvantaged children ever since they moved to the town, and couldn’t believe they had won.

Nikki said: “We have always supported KidsOut, which is literally round the corner from us, and we have been raising money doing raffles, auctions and always had the pots on the bar.

“We don’t support any other charities - we have always focused on KidsOut.

“We chose them for personal reasons really. I think when we were children we had the same sort of issues that KidsOut represents, but there wasn’t a charity like that around at that time.”

Nikki admires the work the charity does, from providing refugees with toys to organising fun days out for children, and supporting families from a range of backgrounds, including those living with critical health issues, in economic hardship or with a disability.

Nikki added: “I think over the years we must have raised £10 to £15 thousand.

“It was also one of the reasons we took on the pub. When we Googled ‘Leighton Buzzard’, this charity came up, and we said ‘ this is meant to be’ - it’s on our doorstep.

“We couldn’t do it without our customers and I couldn’t believe we had been chosen - the award is out of the whole country!”