VIDEO AND PICTURES: Sold out day at Worcester Beer Festival

TICKETS sold out for today's (August 5) Worcester Beer Festival with hundreds of revellers enjoying a merry afternoon.

More than 12,000 people are expected to attend the three day festival, with over 200 beers on offer.

Festival-goers at Worcester Racecourse said they were expecting a very busy evening and were enjoying a few drinks in advance.

Paul Newman, who lives in Bath, said: "I'm here for my third year. I come to see my friends who live in Worcester.

Pictured above: Paul Newman, 67.

"I enjoy the festival as it has a nice relaxed family atmosphere and the range of beers is superb.

"The outside venue is really good as well. The one in Bath happens in a horrible hall."

David Bowden, a volunteer bar worker at the festival, said the event has grown year on year.

"I've been doing this for 12 years and it has got a lot busier in that time," he said.

"I do beer festivals all over the country as it's my hobby and this is one of the larger ones.

Pictured above: Mr Bowden, one of the volunteer barman at the festival.

"British people like to drink beer to get away from the stresses and strains of life."

Mr Bowden, from Bristol, said he preferred Worcester to the bigger beer festivals such as the one happening in London next week.

Sue Tyley, the owner of Purely Pickled Eggs, said: "This is our second year here and it's a pickled egg land here.

"It's a really friendly festival and people her know the best way to eat a pickled egg is in a bag of crisps.

Pictured above (from left to right): Dave Walker, Sue Tyley (owner of Purely Pickled Eggs) and Evangelos Papoutsiou.

"Pickled eggs are a bit like Marmite. You either like them or you hate them, it's an emotive subject."

Ms Tyley, from Stroud, set up the company three-and-a-half years ago and says the Worcester festival is great because it is so close to home.

Some 12 different flavoured pickled eggs were available at the stand.