PUB landlords have brewed their own special golden beer to help revellers to celebrate County Durham Day.

Alan and Susan Hogg, of The Surtees Arms, in Ferryhill Station, County Durham, have brewed Cuthbert’s Cross.

The beer, which has a strength of four per cent, is to mark County Durham Day which is on Thursday, March 20.

It was created at the Yard of Ale Brewery Company which is based in outbuildings at the pub, on Chilton Lane.

Mr Hogg said: “I saw an appeal asking people what they would do to mark County Durham Day.

“If Yorkshire or Lancashire were having an event everyone would be coming forward with ideas to help celebrate it.

“County Durham Day is about giving Durham a brand and I always thought that Durham always needed a beer.

“I took about three months to mentally decide what the beer should be like but the actual recipe did not take very long.

“Hopefully it’ll be a big success. I think Durham as a county tends to overlook these things and it’s about time that Durham started promoting itself.”

Cuthbert’s Cross will go on sale on Saturday, March 8, and will be on sale for about a month.

The beer is to be sold in The Surtees Arms and several other pubs across the North-East during March and April.

Although the beer has been named Cuthbert’s Cross it could still be called something else and a forum is being run to suggest the final name.

Alternative names can be emailed to info@island-man.co.uk