AROUND 600 people attended a beer festival at Seend staged in perfectly sunny spring weather on Saturday.

The 18th Seend Festival got off to a great start with villagers queuing to get into the Seend Community Centre at 12 noon to sample the beers and ciders on offer.

Organiser Richard Todhunter said: “It was perfect weather for the festival and we had a brilliant day. There was a really good family atmosphere.

“We had some fantastic beers and ciders for people to savour, sourced from a wide range of small craft brewers.”

There were 32 beers on display, ranging from Hop Back Brewery’s Hop Back at 3.5 per cent St Ives’ Brewhouse Belgian at a mighty 7.3 per cent.

They were accompanied by a selection of 12 ciders ranging from Sandridge Cider’s Giggling Pig at 3.8 per cent from Bromham to Orchard Pig’s The Hog Father at 7.4 per cent from West Bradley in Somerset.

The ciders all sold out and most of the beer kegs were drunk dry, with the three most popular brews being Kettlesmith’s Double IPA, Milk Street’s Taiheke and Plain Ales’ Innocence.

To soak up the alcohol, there was a hog roast provided by local pig farmers Padfield Porkies in Seend and a barbecue in the marquee at the rear of the community centre.

A bar provided a range of alternative drinks and non-alcoholic refreshments for drivers and non-beer drinkers.

Richard added: “This is the 18th year of the festival and we had around 600 people attending.

“We haven’t yet counted the takings but we hope to raise between £3,000 and £4,000 for community centre funds.”

Mr Todhunter had invited three Spanish friends, Jose Manuel Espejo, Emilio Munot and Raul Castilla, to the festival, while Mike Jerrard had flown in from Melbourne, Australia, to see his family and taste the ales.

Drinkers were entertained by three pupils from Melksham Oak Community School: Chloe Elford, 15, Sadie Williams, 14, and Harry Davies, 15.

They were followed by singer/guitarist Jamie R Hawkins and Gray Smith, who sang with his wife, Claire Marie Conlin.

In the evening, local band Indecision from Devizes, back by popular demand, performed outside for the crowd.