TWO Stourbridge fish and chip shops have been named among the six best in the Midlands - as well as being shortlisted for a national award.

Merchants on Worcester Street and Oldswinford Fish and Chips on Hagley Road have been named in the top 60 shops across the UK in the 2019 National Fish and Chip Shop Awards.

Both businesses have been shortlisted for the Fish and Chip Shop of the Year honour - one of 14 categories in the annual awards which are widely recognised as the 'Oscars' of the chippy industry.

Along with Fiddlers Elbow in Herefordshire, Bewdley's Merchants and Redditch pair Golden Carp and Winyates, the Stourbridge twosome have been named the Midlands' top six.

The region covers West Midlands, Staffordshire, Derbyshire, Shropshire, Herefordshire, Northamptonshire, Worcestershire, Herefordshire, and Warwickshire.

The shops are judged on more than just the fish and chips with judges also considering sustainability, menu innovation, catering for special dietary requirements, customer service and marketing.

Over the coming weeks the shops will undergo a further phase of mystery diner judging inspections in order to whittle the Top 60 down to a Top 20 listing, then a Top 10 shortlist, before the final stage of judging in London in January 2019.

Marcus Coleman, chief executive officer at competition organisers Seafish, said: “The calibre of finalists in this year’s Top 60 is extremely high and provides a true representation of the quality found within the fish and chip sector, perfectly summing up why British fish and chips are, and will always be, the best in the world."