BEER Festival organiser Don Jones said this year’s event in Devizes was a smash hit.

The 20th festival in the town saw hundreds of visitors and fans of beer and cider, including members of CAMRA the real ale organisation, descend on the town at the weekend.

Mr Jones said that this year’s festival at The Wharf, Devizes featured 100 real ales and 40 ciders.

He said: “Hard-working volunteers from Devizes Rotary raised almost £3,000 for local charities by serving food at the Devizes CAMRA Beer Festival.

“Over 20 Rotarians and friends were joined by members of Devizes Lions to serve over 500 burgers, 800 sausages, and four huge pans of chilli to hungry festival-goers.

“Veggie burgers and a vegan chilli were on offer and this year environmental concerns were at the fore as Plastic cutlery and polystyrene containers were replaced by recyclable and sustainable alternatives.”

Paula Winchcombe, who officially took over as president of Devizes Rotary from outgoing president Clive Harland on Tuesday, said: “We were delighted to be asked once again by Devizes CAMRA to work with them at this year’s beer festival.

"Working together not only enables us to support this fantastic mainstay of the Devizes event calendar, but it allows us, as the only caterer on site, to raise thousands of pounds for deserving local causes without hurting the income of commercial caterers”.

The festival opened at 11.30am and went on into the late evening featuring food stalls and live music from six local bands.

A spokesperson for Devizes Town Council said they were happy to support the beer festival as it was part of the town’s unique cultural attraction.

They said they provided free parking in the town on the day to encourage as many visitors as possible and to help make the event a success.