Alex Colman

The Citizens Advice Bureau in Lincoln has received a lottery grant to expand its services into some of the most deprived areas of the city.

Some £300,000 has been awarded over three years to run an outreach service into the city’s Abbey, Birchwood, Glebe and Moorland wards which have recently been identified as some of the most deprived in the country.

Each area will have two surgeries a week with the tagline of taking advice to where it is most needed.

Lincoln Citizens Advice Bureau Manager, Roy Trotter, said: The logistics of getting a mother and two children into our city centre office don’t work, so the outreach takes advice to the four most deprived areas in Lincoln.”

Services at Abbey, Glebe and Moorland are planned to make use of City of Lincoln Council buildings and in Birchwood, the Access and Training Centre, although these are subject to approval.

Outreach at Abbey will potentially be delivered at the Neighbourhood Renewal Office, in Glebe at the St Giles Community Centre and in Moorland at the Moorland Community Centre.

The Strugglers Inn has been named Lincoln CAMRA Branch Pub of the Year for the second time in three years.

The pub fought off tough competition from the likes of Lincoln’s Jolly Brewer and Golden Eagle as well as the Butcher and Beast in Heighington.

A vote by local Campaign For Real Ale members started the selection process before four judges chose the winner on the quality of beer, atmosphere, service, community focus and value for money.

Landlady Anna, who doesn’t use a surname, worked as a landlady in Lincoln for 25 years and feels a good choice of beer and friendly regulars make a great pub.

“Customers come in looking for interesting beers and we can have up to five guest ales including Poachers, which is brewed in North Hykeham.

“There is real community spirit here with a base of regulars who make visitors feel welcome and in a good pub there are no strangers, only friends you’ve not met yet.”

Lincoln CAMRA chairman Bob Foulger said: “Anna is extremely enthusiastic about real ale and we believe that if a publican looks after the cask beer in the cellar, then everything else in the pub is likely to receive the same care which is certainly the case at the Struggs.”

The Strugglers Inn now qualifies for the Lincolnshire round of the competition which is the next hurdle on its way to becoming CAMRA’s national pub of the year.