HUNDREDS of people savoured a time-honoured English tradition during a popular beer and cider festival which proved a roaring success.

The Elmley Castle Beer and Cider Festival at the Queen Elizabeth Inn featured Morris Dancing, live music, a barbecue and, of course, a wide variety of beers and ciders showcasing local breweries.

The manager Phil Berriman said around 600 people had enjoyed the festival which ran between Saturday and Bank Holiday Monday.

Mr Berriman said: "It has been fantastic - really, really good. The highlight was the variety of people we had. We have had people from Evesham and from further afield." Around 20 Morris dancers entertained the crowds with their traditional English folk dancing.

It is the first beer festival at the pub since it reopened in December last year after the villagers got together and opened it as a community pub, bought by 26 investors.

Mr Berriman said: "It's the future of small village pubs. It has been a roaring success."

The North Cotswold Brewery provided beers but also helped with the cooling system. Other breweries to feature at the festival included Cotswold Spring Brewery, Prescott Brewery, Slaughterhouse Brewery, CATS Brewery, Cotswold Lion Brewery, Stroud Brewery, Yubberton Brewery and, for the ciders and perries, Westons, Pearsons and Gwynt Y Ddraig.