REAL ale fans in East Lancashire were today raising a glass to 25 years of successfully fighting the corner of British beer.

Since the Campaign For Real Ale was established on March 16, 1971, members have been able to secure a future for independent brewers and encourage more than 300 new beer producers to open.

And Malcolm Macdonald, managing director of Moorhouses brewery, Burnley, says the organisation has undoubtedly prevented the death of traditional cask ales.

He added: "I personally will be raising a toast to the continued success of CAMRA.

"I believe they are probably the most successful consumer organisation ever.

"Companies like ourselves and hundreds of small breweries simply would not be here any longer had it not been for the work carried out by CAMRA over the years.

"In the late sixties and early seventies cask beers had almost disappeared."

Moorhouses, in Moorhouse Street, Burnley, employs 13 people to turn out five different real ales. Among them are the popular Pendle Witch, Owd Ale and one that changes every month.

Next week they will relaunch their Easter Ale.

The company is in fact one of the larger micro-breweries in the country.

Haslingden landlord David Porter employs just one other person to brew beer in the cellar of his pub.

CAMRA was formed by four men on holiday in Ireland in protest against the poor quality of British beer.

It now boasts 46,000 members, many of them in the based in the North West.

Local groups organise annual beer festivals in Burnley and Blackburn.

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