BEER prices in Darlington rose by almost twice the rate of inflation last year, according to an annual survey.

The town's branch of the Campaign for Real Ale (Camra) recorded 64 prices of 39 different cask-conditioned beers in 19 town centre pubs and bars.

The survey found that the price of standard strength real ale cost an average of £1.87 at the end of 2002, an increase of 5.2 per cent over the year.

Stronger beers went up by an average of 15p, or 8.7 per cent, to £1.94.

Camra has been monitoring the town's beer prices since the early 1980s and has seen similar inflation-beating rises almost every year.

But the variation of prices in town centre pubs has greatly increased.

The prices of standard-strength beer in the survey ranged from £2.20 for Ruddles Bitter at the Arts Centre to £1.22 for Sam Smiths Old Brewery Bitter at the Glittering Star in Stonegate.

Camra spokesman Brendan Boyle said: "Beer prices seem to go up by more than the rate of inflation every year.

"Having said that, generalisations are getting far harder to make because there are far greater discrepancies between pubs with different pricing policies.

"That is not to say that the most expensive pubs are the quietest, or the cheapest are the busiest, it is horses for courses as far as the customer is concerned.

"It used to be that most pubs in Darlington were just a few pence different from the average price, but now there is almost double between the highest and the lowest prices.