A curry house near Ipswich has been crowned the best restaurant in a national competition.

The Chequers Indian Lounge, in Great Blakenham, was among the winners of the Curry Life Awards on Sunday.

The awards were held at the London Marriott Hotel Grosvenor Square in Mayfair and had a number of celebrity guests in attendance.

The team working behind The Chequers (Image: Kois Miah) Curry Life Media Group Editor, Syed Belal Ahmed, said: "A major aim of the awards has always been to highlight best practice going on across the country – so that everyone has the opportunity to learn from the best - something that has always been a driving principle behind Curry Life itself.

“Over the many years we have been staging the awards, we have seen major improvements in standards and quality being offered to customers, to the point where several restaurants are now in a position to challenge for accolades such as Michelin stars.”

The awards event is an annual celebration of British curry houses, which have an annual turnover of over £4 billion.”

Nasir Jilan works as a firefighter alongside managing the lounge (Image: Kois Miah) Special guests included secretary of state for health and social care, Wes Streeting, Lord Karan Bilimoria CBE, founder and chairman of Cobra Beer and GB News presenter Camilla Tominey.

Owner of The Chequers, Nasir Jilan, manages the lounge alongside his job as a firefighter.

The food at The Chequers (Image: Kois Miah) The former pub turned into a restaurant two years ago after undergoing a complete refurbishment.