AN ale, cider and food festival is being held at a popular pub to celebrate the bank holiday.

The Hanover Inn, in Church Street, Harwich, is holding its first festival of the sort from today until Monday.

It will feature East Anglian breweries as well as ales from further afield including Green Jack from Lowestoft, Crouch Vale,from South Woodham Ferrers, Lacons of Great Yarmouth as well as Oakham from Peterborough, Loch Lomond from West Dunbartonshire and Great Orme from Llandudno.

Rob Ranson, who owns the pub with wife Teresa, said: “We took the Hanover on a year ago as a failing pub and would never have guessed how the local community has supported us.

“We recently held a free ale tasting evening and have offered CAMRA members a discount on ales and cider.”

The pub, which was built in the 1700s as a lodgings for traders, has been run by Rob and Teresa for the past year.

Its focus is now on real ale and it is now bidding to become the best real ale pub in Harwich.

For more information about the pub visit www.hanoverinn.co.uk.