HARBOUR Lights fish and chip shop in Falmouth has been shortlisted as one of the Top 20 in the country.

The Fish and Chip Shop of the Year award, one of 14 categories in the 2019 National Fish & Chip awards will be announced in January 2019.

Harbour Lights owner Peter Fraser said: "We're absolutely thrilled to be shortlisted. The Harbour Lights gang have had such a busy summer as people have chosen Cornwall as their holiday destination of choice. Maintaining the quality while it’s busy is so important to us. I owe it all to the team who are totally outstanding.

"The past 12 months has been incredible for Harbour Lights. With a royal visit, the launch and global success of International Mushy, Sustainable Restaurant Association Accreditation, the schools Sustainability Workshop rollout and recording breaking numbers of visitors it felt like the right time to go for the big award." Pete said.

"We all have our fingers crossed that the mystery judges can see what Fish & Chip fanatics we are."

Organised by Seafish, the annual National Fish & Chip Awards is a prestigious competition which recognises true excellence in the fish and chip industry.

These Top 20 shops represent the best in the UK and will now compete in two further rounds of judging in their quest to become the nation’s number one.

As part of the judging process, each shop is carefully assessed on a variety of elements including: sustainable sourcing policies, menu development and innovation, staff training policies and processes and wider marketing and promotional activity and techniques – and of course the quality of fish and chips on offer and the levels of customer service provided by staff.

Over the coming weeks the shops will undergo a further phase of mystery diner judging inspections in order to whittle the UK Top 20 down to a UK Top 10 shortlist, before the final stage of judging held in London in January 2019.

Marcus Coleman, Chief Executive Officer at Seafish, said: “This flagship award category showcases the leading fish and chip businesses across the country. These shops have demonstrated real commitment to quality in a number of areas, not just food, and have worked extremely hard to earn their place on this list.

“There’s a tremendous amount of talent to be seen across the UK Top 20, and we wish them all the best in the next round of judging as we know how much this competition means to all of them.”

20 businesses are shortlisted across 10 judging regions: Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, North East England, North West England, Midlands, Eastern England, London & South East England, Central & Southern England and South West England.