A former primary school headteacher who became a pub entrepreneur has been nominated for three national awards.

Dianne Irving, who runs three pubs in Carlisle, and a pub in west Cumbria, has been nominated for the British Institute of Innkeeping Licensee of The Year award.

The Crown, in Stanwix has also been shortlisted in two of Greene King brewery’s national awards as Community Pub of the Year and also Entertainment Pub of The Year.

Dianne, managing director of Drouth Limited, will find out if the Crown is a winner at the Greene King Pub Partners Night of Excellence on March 25, at Whittlebury Hall in Towcester. Category winners will also be in the running for the Pub of The Year Award.

She said: “I am delighted to be nominated for these awards. It’s testament to the team we are building who really listen to our customers and make sure we offer something for everyone."

Dianne also runs the city centre Howard Arms, the Milbourne Arms in Shaddongate, and The White Mare at Beckermet.

Dianne said: “To be a good licensee you need to be flexible and make sure you are giving customers what they want. That means listening to customers and adapting accordingly.

“I like to think that at all the venues I run, by working with an excellent team of people, that’s what we achieve.

“The Crown is a pub which really is at the heart of its community and is popular with a wide range of customers."

Speaking about the Greene King awards, the firm’s Pub Partners managing director Wayne Shurvinton said: “Holding a night of excellence is the ideal way to recognise talent and to reward those who have gone above and beyond to highlight the key role that leased and tenanted pubs play in shaping innovation and adaptability in the wider industry, while also promoting great pubs that sit at the hub of local life.”

Before setting up her business, Dianne was formerly head teacher at Penruddock Primary School at Penrith and Yewdale Primary School, Carlisle. She previously taught at Orgill infants, Egremont; St Mary’s, Kells, Whitehaven; All Saints, Cockermouth; and Moor Row, near Whitehaven.