A cocktail bar has beaten hundreds of entries – including a bra-fitting boutique and a fairytale castle – to win Shed Of The Year.

Social media influencer Danielle Zarb-Cousin’s 1970s-inspired cocktail bar was chosen over 331 entries – the highest number of entries the competition has seen.

Named the Creme de Menthe, the shed is painted mint green and is complete with a retro bar area, seating and a bright orange interior.

The 29-year-old from Southend-on-Sea in Essex transformed her old rundown brown shed after splitting with her fiance, former Love Island star Jonny Mitchell last year.

She said the project “became a focus in a time of chaos” and the shed became a place she could “go and write and not be disturbed” after moving back in with her parents during lockdown.

The esteemed title comes with a £1,000 prize.

The contest included seven other categories, including the best cabin/summerhouse award, a budget category, and the nature’s haven award.

Joanna van Blommestein from Faversham in Kent won the cabin/summerhouse category for her bra-fitting boutique, which she uses to help women who have undergone surgery.

The 33-year-old said: “Lots of people don’t really enjoy bra fittings… it can be quite overwhelming or quite daunting. I just wanted to make it a lovely, relaxing, stress-free place.”

A special lockdown prize was won by Mark Campbell from Wingerworth, Derbyshire, for the fairytale-inspired castle he created for his granddaughter.

The 60-year old said of the two-storey, 12ft pine creation: “It’s amazing what you can do with a bit of enthusiasm”.

Topping the unique category was John Williams’ pop-up pub in his back garden in Plymouth, and a bird-watching sanctuary created by Rosie Hoult from Shrewsbury won the nature’s haven prize.

Ally Scott, 48, produced the best workshop after turning her shed into a space to pursue her dream of becoming an artist and signwriter after the death of her mother last year.

“This shed has changed my life… I was a mess after my mother died, but this has given me back a buzz,” she said.

The Peculiar Pear is decorated with lots of colourful nik-naks including garden gnomes, mushrooms, and Doctor Who’s cybermen helmets.

The budget prize went to Les Rowe from New Brighton on the Wirral for his seven-side refuge, created using mostly second-hand materials, including stained glass windows recovered from a synagogue.

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