A NORTH Essex drinks firm scooped glory at a national countryside awards ceremony dubbed the ‘Rural Oscars’.

Bradfield-based Barn Farm Drinks was announced as National Rural Enterprise Champion after impressing judges at the hotly anticipated Countryside Alliance awards with its pressed fruit juices.

The company racked up more than 18,000 public nominations during the awards which celebrate British food and farming, enterprise and heritage through small, hard-working businesses.

Now in its fifteenth year, the awards have become the definitive rural business award to win.

The Rural Enterprise Award recognises businesses that make a real commitment to the future of the countryside, to jobs, and to the community.

Earlier this year, Barn Farm Drinks scooped the regional award for rural enterprise and, after a further round of judging, the team have now added the national gong.

The firm was described by the deciding judge as a “business which is not only dedicated to giving us one of our five a day, but they also provide an important habitat for pollinators, energy for the farm, and support to the community.”