A MINEHEAD hotel scooped the industry's highest accolade for the third year in a row.

The two-star Channel House Hotel at Church Path has been awarded the English Tourism Council's Gold Award for outstanding quality.

The recognition goes to only four hotels in the country and the achievement has delighted Channel House owners Brian and Jackie Jackman, who have run the business for 17 years.

Brian said: "Apparently it is much harder to retain this award than achieve it in the first place so obviously we are very pleased.

"Our intention was not to lose it but it gets tougher every year because the standards are always rising."

The test proved even harder this year because two 'mystery' inspectors - instead of the usual one - visited the Channel House and both had to agree on the top mark rating.

Hotels given the award have to come up to scratch on around 60 different points and meet exacting standards on overall quality, including furnishings, facilities, food and service.

Brian said: "You can't afford to let any one area slip - everything has to stand out."