Elected mayor of Watford Dorothy Thornhill marked St David’s day by donning her beloved Wales rugby shirt to open the first real ale and cider festival at Fullerians Rugby Club on Friday afternoon.

While the mayor’s shirt didn’t go down too well, the beer certainly appeared to do so. The three day festival featured ales supplied by two independent breweries, Tring and Red Squirrel, and ten specially sourced West Country farmhouse ciders.

Hundreds of people attended the event during the course of the weekend and they were entertained with live music from five local bands and other activities such as ferret racing, boxing in an inflatable ring with blow-up gloves and protective headgear and a Wellington boot throwing competition.

The event was organised to help raise cash for the Fullerians clubhouse rebuilding fund.

Organiser and bar steward Gary Wall said: "It was our first festival but it went incredibly well and we will definitely be doing it again.

"Many of the ales and ciders sold out and the kitchen was doing a roaring trade.

"I’m not sure how much we have raised yet but it will all go into the clubhouse fund.

"I would like to thank everyone who helped organise the event, the bands who played and those who volunteered over the weekend.

"Special thanks should go to our friends from Bushey and Oxhey Round Table who manned the bar so dutifully - and ensured the ales and cider were kept in premium condition by virtue of regular sampling, in the interest of quality control."