THE Bolton branch of Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) helped Bolton Hospice raise £500 as their chosen beer festival charity at this year’s event.

And next year organisers have promised to once again support the hospice.

Bolton CAMRA Beer Festival organiser, Pete Kobryn said: “Whilst our main focus at the beer festival, as always, is offering quality and choice of real ales, ciders and perries, we feel that it’s important to also support our local community, as much as possible.

“The services provided by Bolton Hospice have probably impacted, at least indirectly, on just about everyone who lives in Bolton, so we’re pleased to have been able to offer our support.”

Bolton Hospice community fundraising manager, Stephanie Lacaille added: “I’d like to thank everybody involved in the Bolton CAMRA Beer Festival for supporting Bolton Hospice.

“We really do rely on the support of local people to ensure that terminally ill people in Bolton have access to the hospice. The hospice has to find £2.5million per year to keep its services running which we simply couldn’t do without the support of the local community.”

This year’s festival was held in Bolton Ukrainian Club.

Mr Kobryn said: “I’d like to thank to all our local CAMRA members who volunteered to staff the beer festival, as without their efforts it would not be possible. It’s a community event, with wide geographical appeal, organised and run by members of our Bolton community.”

The 2015 beer festival is already in the initial planning stages and will be held at the same venue, on the dates April 9 to April 11.

Mr Kobryn said: “We’re looking to build on this year’s festival by adding some bottled Ukrainian beers to complement our usual, quality, range of British beers and ciders. And we will, once again, be supporting Bolton Hospice.”