An annual beer and cider festival will return to Maldon next month raising money for a charity supporting young carers.

The Maldon and Dengie Campaign for Real Ale group is hosting the event from April 11 to 14.

Held at the Plume Academy, in Fambridge Road, the event will support Action for Family Carers, based at Brickhouse Farm in Maldon.

This year the theme for the event is the West Country with more than 40 beers and 15 ciders from Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, Dorset, Bristol and Wiltshire.

There will also be food from JP’s Kitchen will regional delicacies such as cider casserole and pasties.

There will also be an Essex Beer Bar featuring ales from the Crouch Vale, Maldon, Might Oak and Wibblers breweries.

Chris Harvey, chairman of the Maldon & Dengie branch of the CAMRA, said: “The beer and cider festival is one of the highlights of the social calendar in Maldon, which is proved by last year’s excellent turnout.

“There were more than 1,500 visitors, who between them drank around 4,000 pints. We’ve selected a really good line-up of beers and ciders this year, which I think will go down well.”

James Clarke, the Chief Executive Officer for Action for Family Carers, said “We’d like to thank Maldon and Dengie Camra for adopting us as the charity benefitting from this year’s Maldon Beer & Cider Festival.

“Action for Family Carers supports unpaid carers of all ages across Essex and with the generous help of visitors to the Festival, we feel sure we can achieve even more in the future.”

Entrance to the Festival is £1, and free to CAMRA members, with a £3.50 deposit for the souvenir tankard, fully refundable if it is returned.

Opening times will be 4pm to 11pm on Wednesday April 11 and noon until 11pm from Thursday April 12 to Saturday April 14.