Beer and cider festival a hit despite being cut short by torrid weather

From left, William Heyes, Russell Hatton, Peter Rainford, Alex Shaw, David Casterton and Rowan Nookey have fun at Cuerden Park Cider and Beer Festival

Heavy rain and strong winds forced organisers to cancel the final day of the festival as the remnants of Hurricane Bertha hit the park on Sunday.

It was a blow for the charity, Cuerden Valley Park Trust, which expected to raise between £4,000 and £5,000 on Sunday alone.

But the rest of the three-day festival escaped the weather and proved to be very popular, with 1,500 people attending.

There were 20 ciders and 15 beers on offer for festival-goers, as well as food and live music.

Lesley Cryer, events manager for the trust, said: “It went really well on Friday and Saturday.

“We were selling out of cider and beer on Saturday, so we were going to have to phone around on Sunday to get more supplies.”

She praised the team of more than 30 volunteers who helped to run the festival.

Lesley said: “We can’t do events without volunteers.

“They put so much time into setting it up, manning the bar and the gate, taking things down, ordering drinks, all various bit and bobs that we couldn’t do ourselves.”