A local beer has become a national champion in a prestigious contest which attracted entries from brewers all over the country.

Festival Mild, which is brewed by Hampshire's oldest independent family brewery, George Gale & Co, has won a Gold Medal in the Old Ales and Strong Milds category of the Great British Winter Beer Festival held last week in Burton-Upon-Trent and organised by Camra.

It has also won a Silver Medal in the 'Champion of Champions' Winter Beer of Britain category at the same festival, when it competed against all the other gold medal-holders to win its title.

This is not the first time that Festival Mild has been acknowledged at this established annual festival, where it was awarded a Bronze Medal in 1997 and a Silver in 2000 both in the Old Ales and Strong Milds category.

Its champion status is now being celebrated in pubs all over the Gales estate, which covers Hampshire, Sussex, Surrey, Berkshire and Dorset.

Camra's head of campaigns and communications, Mike Benner, commented: "This year's awards have proved yet again that Britain's small brewers are leading the way in producing tasty and distinctive beers which stand out from the crowd. It's great to see a traditional family brewer like Gales do so well with such a classic beer."

Gales' Head Brewer Derek Lowe will be attending an awards ceremony in London later in the year to collect Gales' latest awards.