Hundreds enjoy the sun at Hartlepool Rugby Club beer festival to raise cash for Alice House Hospice

The club staged its annual beer festival in conjunction with Hartlepool’s Alice House Hospice, and the event was a sell-out smash.

More than 700 people enjoyed a selection of drinks and street food, while entertainment came from local bands and a host of family activities.

The festival has become a firm favourite in the town's calendar and Alice House corporate fundraiser Greg Hildreth was over the moon with the turn-out on one of the hottest days of the summer.

“We could not have asked for better weather,” he said.

“It rained last year, so to have sunshine like this makes a real difference. It is so nice to see everybody turning up. It is a complete sell-out – we have sold 750 tickets.

“This is the forth time we have done it with the rugby club and this year we have got 32 different beers, lagers and ciders on offer.

“It is a real family event – we have got local music on all-day and we have find-raising activities and games

Greg has been delighted with the support from Hartlepool’s business community and the rugby club.

“Cameron’s have sponsored the overall event and Exwold Technologies are the cup sponsors – they have sponsored all the beer glasses. Seymour have provided the generator and we have got about 20 barrels sponsored by local companies.

“We want to thank all the sponsors, everybody at the rugby club, especially Liam Lester and Lee and Claire Dodgson, all the food stalls who have paid to be here and everybody who has bought tickets and come along to show their support. on the day.

“We are already looking forward to doing it all again next year.”

Greg is confident this year’s event will provide a major boost for the hospice’s coffers.

“I think we will raise seven or eight thousand pounds from this here today,” he said.