FIVE hundred gallons of beer - about equivalent to that sunk in Ramsgate in a week - was downed at a festival in eight hours.

Fans of real ale sampled 50 different brews and saw off 54 casks that organisers had hoped would last the whole of the two-day festival.

Thanet Campaign for Real Ale organising committee chairman Eddie Gadd said: "It was incredible. In the run up to the event we increased our ale order by 35 per cent - we never thought we would be drunk dry before the end of the first evening.

"People warned us the festival would never work and that we were taking a huge risk; the response proved that there is a real market for this type of event.

"There was a great community spirit around the place. It was manically busy but very mellow. Our volunteer helpers were run off their feet and did a great job - they deserve to be thanked publicly."

The Thanet CAMRA team has already pledged to hold another festival.