A new festival for gin and rum in Oswestry attracted the crowds over the weekend.

The Venue, in Park Hall, held its first Gin and Rum Festival both inside and outside its walls as the warm weather brought around 150 people to sample a number of Oswestry-based gins.

Matt Lee, manager of The Venue, admitted it took a while for the event to come together on the day, with an early start, but was delighted with how it went, and even has eyes on more 'festival' events.

"It took a while to get going because we opened up at midday, with the food stalls at 10am, and that might be too early for some," he said.

"But when we go to about 2.30pm it started to really fill up and then it went really well.

"We've had really great support from suppliers in the area, including Henstone Distillery and Momentum Wines as well – they've all been been fantastic.

"As this is out first one, we're really quite happy with how it's gone and our thinking is that we can make it part of the annual calendar in Oswestry.

"We've already pencilled in for Oktoberfest and we think we might make it compulsory to dress up in Lederhosen and Dirndl."

Chris Toller, from Henstone Distillery, was on hand to make sure visitors enjoyed themselves with plenty of his product, which is based at Stonehouse Brewery, and proved to be a popular pit-stop for those enjoying the gin.

He added: " We're delighted to be able to support events like this, especially a new one.

"We've supported the Oswestry Food and Drink Festival as well as the Sweeney hall event too – and will be this year, too.

"But it really is great to see a new event like this, especially at a high-profile venue like The Venue."