LAST night the best of Newport were celebrated at Voice Magazine's V Awards.

The annual awards bash, held at The Bassment club in the city centre, welcomed businesses and supporters from all across Gwent.

People of Newport were invited to vote for their favourite restaurants, hair salons, tattoo artists and much more. The long list of winners included

Zoe Sweeting, who was voted South Wales Next Top Model and Chez Giovanni, who after eight years of winning best Italian restaurant, won Best Restaurant of the Year award.

Chris Evans, founder of Voice magazine, said: "It's been absolutely fantastic. This year, we've had over 300,000 votes.

"We have actually crashed the computer system twice with the numbers of votes coming in."

The Waterloo, in Pill, won Best hotel/restaurant award. Bob Evans, of The Waterloo, who accepted the award, said: "I'm absolutely delighted to get the award. I think the V awards are so good for Newport. They always build up a lot of excitement. Of course, it means a lot to be recognised."

Mr Evans said: "It's been a tough six months for Newport and the surrounding areas but the V awards represent Newport and South east Wales at their best.

The awards are held at different Newport venues every year. This year, guests were asked to bring along a gift for children in need this Christmas. Capital FM radio presenter, Matt Lissack hosted the ceremony

Mr Evans said: "It was an incredibly fun night. It was great to see people out in the city centre on a Thursday night and hopefully some of the surrounding bars and restaurants benefited too."

See November's edition of VOICE, for a full list of winners and all the backstage gossip.