BUTCHERS and brewers helped entertain visitors to a new sausage and beer festival.

Visitors flocked to the inaugural festival at the Camp Hill Estate, near Bedale in North Yorkshire on Saturday (July 26).

About 15 butchers from the county vied for the Best Sausage trophy, with the public voting for the winner in a blind tasting.

It was won by Mark Cockburn, from Cockburn Butchers in Bedale, who was awarded his trophy by Richmond MP and departing Foreign Secretary William Hague.

The butchers also staged sausage-making workshops, a sausage cookery demonstration and a speediest sausage-linking challenge

Locally produced ales and ciders were also available for people to try with a number of local breweries also took part in the celebration of local produce, including Wall’s Brewery in Northallerton and Wensleydale Brewery.

There were also family activities, a live oompah band and the chance to try out the adventure playground and children’s assault course.

Jo Ropner, who helps runs the Camp Hill Estate with her husband, Robert Ropner, said: “This was our first festival and it just exceeded all our expectations. We had nearly 900 people of all ages and more than 1,000 pints were sold.”

The event raised funds to purchase a defibrillator for the local community.