A beer festival has seen about 500 pints of real ale drunk over a weekend.

The Dog Inn, in Hedingham Road, Halstead, held the festival from Friday to Sunday and had hundreds of people from the community sampling the selection of 16 real ales on offer.

There was a quiz on the Friday night and live music on the Saturday from Halstead-based band Anything Else.

On the Sunday, a raffle and a home grown produce sale took place with proceeds going to the Essex Air Ambulance.

Landlady and co-owner of the free house, Jane Twisleton, said: “It was really good and went really well.

“There were a lot more teams in the quiz than I was expecting and the Saturday was packed.

“I don’t know how many people attended over the weekend - I was too busy trying to serve them all - but I reckon that out of 820 pints, about 500 were drunk.

“The support from the community was amazing - it was a real community event.”

The money raised for the air ambulance has yet to be counted, but is expected to be a “fair amount”.

The pub is planning another beer festival next year.