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Fish Kitchen 1854 has been announced as the second best takeaway in the UK and first in Wales at this year’s National Fish and Chips Awards.

Fish Kitchen 1854 was one of two fish and chip shops in Caerphilly County Borough to finish in the top ten, with Ship Deck in Trethomas also making the trip to London’s Park Plaza for Tuesday’s award ceremony.

Lee Humphreys runs Fish Kitchen 1854 in Maesycwmmer alongside wife Samantha, who described her joy at finishing second: “It was the icing on the cake for us. There were so many good takeaways from all over the country so to be recognised by people in the industry was amazing.

“The whole thing felt like the Oscars honestly. Jason Mamford hosted and there were 600 people there to find out who had won.”

Unfortunately, Fish Kitchen 1854 narrowly missed out on top spot to Yorkshire-based chippy, Whiteheads Fish and Chips.

Having only opened their doors four years ago, Fish Kitchen 1854 is already a well-established part of the community in Maesycwmmer.

The date in its name comes from the year the Maesycwmmer Viaduct was built during the industrial revolution.

Since becoming the best fish and chip shop in Wales, Ms Humphreys spoke about how that same community has come out to celebrate the result: “We’re usually quiet on Tuesdays and Wednesdays but the whole village has turned out to say congrats.

“We have a pretty big social media presence and the reaction online has also been great. We’re going to keep doing what we do and hopefully the success will continue.”

The pair are looking to build on the shop’s rapid growth over the last four years, with a new sit-down seafood restaurant coming to Bargoed in the near future.