A Musselburgh fish and chip shop has been named one of the 50 best in the UK for the third year running.

East Coast, on North High Street, just a short walk from Fisherrow harbour, also sits proudly amongst Scotland’s top 10 fish and chip takeaways and is the only chippy in Edinburgh and the Lothians to make the list.

The accolade follows an extensive search by leading trade publication Fry Magazine to find those chippies serving up the finest fish suppers, including two rounds of mystery dining visits.

Anonymous judges sampled the food and assessed key aspects of East Coast Fish and Chips Takeaway, from the quality of the food and customer service, to the cleanliness of the premises to staff knowledge, professionalism and social media presence.

With 100 marks up for grabs, the standard was extremely high, with the benchmark being 96 per cent or over for takeaways to win an award and 95 per cent or over for restaurants.

East Coast scored an impressive 98 per cent overall with the mystery diners particularly praising the ‘lovely taste’, ‘freshness’ and ‘perfectly cooked’ food; ‘plenty of choice on the menu’; ‘efficient and prompt’ service; ‘cleanliness’; and ‘friendly staff’ who were ‘obviously proud of their products’.

The takeaway also offers specials such as East Coast lobster with garlic butter and twice cooked chips, prawn loaded fries and monkfish scampi. It offers a kids’ menu and gluten free options are also available.

Owned by Carlo and Katia Crolla, East Coast, which is also home to a seafood and grill restaurant, is the next chapter for the Crolla family who have been serving the people of Musselburgh from its venue on North High Street since 1974.

Mr Crolla said: "We're really proud to have been named one the UK’s 50 best fish and chip takeaways for the third year running. We’re also amongst Scotland’s top 10 and the only fish and chips takeaway in Edinburgh and the Lothians to land a place on this list.

"This award is owed to the hard work and effort of the whole East Coast team who strive every single day to be the best and help put East Lothian on the map as a real foodie destination.

"Businesses in smaller towns like Musselburgh are often overlooked in UK-wide competitions like this, so it means a lot to us to represent the town on a national level in a competition with such a high benchmark.

"We’d like to thank all our loyal customers, friends and team members who have supported us during a very challenging two years."

Reece Head, Fry Magazine’s 50 Best Fish & Chip Takeaways competition organiser, added: "We’re so pleased to announce this year’s winners including East Coast in Musselburgh.

"The awards recognise and celebrate the hard work, passion and dedication that operators like East Coast put into running their businesses.

"It's been a tough couple of years for the industry, in particular for restaurants that have had to deal with closures but operators continued to adapt, motivate their workforce and invest in new equipment and systems that have seen them come out the other side stronger and in a better position.

"Our 50 Best Takeaway and 10 Best Restaurant winners really do represent the best in the business and they continue to showcase fish and chips as a high quality, value for money meal."