The market café at Monmouthshire’s new livestock centre has topped the poll in the search to find Britain's farming favourite.

The café at Bryngwyn is very much a family affair with Maria Bayliss’s son Joe turning up for work at the crack of dawn and her daughter Chloe, a pupil at Monmouth Comprehensive School, often making cakes and puddings for the counter.

was one of six from across the UK nominated for a Mart’s the Heart award sponsored by the Farmers Guardian.

The café, open from 6am on Mondays and Wednesdays, offers home-cooked food using local suppliers - with roast beef dinners and chicken curries the farmers’ favourites.

Maria even offers healthy menu options for farmers with special dietary requirements.

“Wednesdays are especially busy here, with hundreds of customers passing through,” she said. “Everything is made on site, starting at 5.30am.

“I employ about eight staff, most of them farmers’ wives. I’m lucky to have such a hard-working and fun team of ladies. They make the café an extremely friendly place to enjoy a cuppa or a meal.”

The café’s reputation is matched by its cleanliness credentials. It was recently granted a five-star hygiene rating by Monmouthshire County Council.

The best cafe award was one of three new awards launched this summer under the Mart’s the Heart banner. The other nominees included Carmarthen.