A BEER festival held in Chester-le-Street raised almost £850 for a charity that helps people with dementia.

The Alzheimer’s Society County Durham’s fundraising volunteers staged a daytime beer tasting followed by an evening festival at Chester-le-Street Cricket Club’s clubhouse in Mains Park Road earlier this month.

The event, which followed a successful wine tasting held by the charity last year, featured beers made by smaller brewers in and around the North-East.

Charity volunteer Anthea Cordner said: “We decided we wanted to do a fundraising evening with a difference, and after the huge success of our wine tasting last summer, we thought this would be a great way to raise vital funds for the Alzheimer’s Society.

“It’s great that, as a group, we are building on the success of our past events to raise funds to help support people to live well with dementia and to fund research to one day find a cure for dementia.”

Alzheimer's Society’s Community Fundraiser Rebecca Scott, who organized the event, said: “It’s great that our County Durham volunteer group are giving their time to support Alzheimer’s Society.

“There are over 35,000 people living with dementia in the North-East but dementia is more than just memory loss; it robs people of their lives and has a devastating impact on families and loved ones.

“We rely on the generosity of supporters and volunteers like this group, to help us continue our vital work so that Alzheimer's Society can continue leading the fight against dementia.”

For more information about the charity’s work and its fund-raising efforts in County Durham call its area office in Chester-le-Street on 0191-389-0400.