A CAMPAIGN to raise the profile of East Lancashire real ale has celebrated its 40th birthday.

The Campaign for Real Ale (Camra) regional branch was formed during a meeting at the George Hotel in Darwen Street, Blackburn, on December 10, 1974.

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And to mark its 40th birthday, the branch decided to highlight the best real ale pubs the town had to offer.

The Hare and Hounds in Lammack Road was given the ‘pub of the season’ award for winter, given extra significance by it being the branch’s 40th anniversary.

And bosses at the pub found a cheeky way to celebrate the award with a ‘calendar girls’ style display.

Branch treasurer said: “It is a year since the pub was rescued from the grip of Enterprise Inns by Ian Robertson, a regular for some 30 years, who has turned it into a true free house with five hand pumps offering mainly local beers.

“This followed on from a concerted campaign by locals, including a 290-plus signature petition which prompted Blackburn with Darwen Council to list it as the town’s first Asset of Community Value under the Localism Act, 2011.

“Ian promptly instigated a complete refurbishment of all seating, flooring, fireplaces and decor.”

From there, Camra representatives visited the JD Wetherspoon Postal Order in Darwen Street, the nearest pub to what used to be the George - which is now a takeaway.

They then visited the town’s other real ale pubs - the Adelphi, Molloy’s The Times and Zy Bar - before dropping in at the Black Bull in Brokenstone Road.

Branch chairman John Webster said: “When we first started real ale was very thin on the ground, certainly in the Burnley area.

“In the Blackburn area Thwaites was still very much a real ale producer so it was not too bad there.

“Camra took a while to get going but now it has about 160,000 members so we have some real clout to lobby the Government and we have a lot of MPs on our side.

“So from very small beginnings and four lads in a pub saying ‘we are sick of this keg beer rubbish’ we have really grown.

“And in East Lancashire, real ale has really boomed in recent years. I think we now have 14 breweries, which is great.”

The East Lancashire Camra committee still boasts four founding members in Mr Kershaw and Mr Webster, plus Moorhouse’s brewery liaison officer John Sandiford and John Ingham, who edits its magazine ‘Witch Ale’.

Throughout the branch’s history they have witnessed the closure of Dutton’s, Matthew Brown, Massey’s and Wilson’s, as well as the expansion of Moorhouse’s and the birth of microbreweries including Bowland, Hopstar, Three B’s, Rossendale, Moonstone, Worsthorne and more.