BEER lovers gathered at Blackburn Beer Festival in their droves to sample the wide range of refreshments on offer.

Held once again at Blackburn Rugby Club, the festival raised funds for the town's Youth Zone facility over three days.

Organiser Leigh Culverwell, who is events and enterprise manager for Blackburn Youth Zone, said crowds were bigger than last year as more than 1,000 people attended the festival over the course of the weekend.

She said: "It's been absolutely amazing. It's been really nice to have the street food and the weather has been absolutely perfect - we've been blessed."

Revellers quaffed a selection of more than 60 real ales from across the country.

As well as a vast selection of beers, there was also a gin bar, live music and street food on offer at the festival, which is backed by the Campaign for Real Ale in East Lancashire (Camra).

On Friday afternoon, there had been an event for Blackburn Hive Business Leaders Network attended by about 400 people.

Throughout the weekend, crowds also enjoyed live music and on Saturday there was a memorial rugby match in honour of former Blackburn Rugby Club player Graham McKendry, who died in 2016.

And on Saturday night, the boxing match between David Haye and Tony Bellew was screened for drinkers.

Volunteer Susanna Naughton, who has been at every edition of the festival since it was launched in 2014, said the atmosphere was fantastic.

She added: "The weather has helped the turnout - it's been brilliant. We've been coming here for years and it's for a great cause."

Festival-goer Matt Parry, who was visiting the event for the first time, said he was impressed by the range of beers on offer.

He added: "I've been to bigger beer festivals in Manchester but the atmosphere here is really good."

Blackburn Youth Zone relies on voluntary donations in order to continue its work. Operational costs each year are largely funded by BYZ Patron Programme – made up of the local business community – charity events organised by corporate supporters are vital to the charity’s ongoing success.