Edward Wood and Clare Fildes of the Shropshire Hill AONB Partnership are encouraging people to buy local produce wherever possible

Drinkers of a Wood’s beer have helped to give a £1200 boost to a ‘Buy Local’ campaign being run by the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).

The money was raised through Wistanstow’s Wood Brewery donating 5p for every pint of Shropshire Hills Beauty it sold. The beer was launched last year by Wood’s and the AONB to mark the 50^th anniversary of the area’s stunning landscape and scenery becoming legally protected.

Said Clare Fildes, Development Officer for the AONB Partnership: “The beer was superb and we’re delighted that it has raised so much money that we can put to constructive use. Part of our work as an AONB is to encourage local people to buy local produce. Keeping money in the area increases its overall prosperity for everyone living and working here. Local producers provide valuable jobs, and activities like livestock farming and food production is really important to sustain the local scenery.”

Edward Wood, MD of the family-owned Wood Brewery, said: “We’re very pleased that drinkers chose to support this cause through our beer. We’re very much part of the local community – almost all our staff live in the area – so we like to support local causes where we can.”

The AONB is one of several local and regional causes to have received money from the Wood’s ‘Pence for Pints’ programme. Currently the brewery has special beers on sale for the Midlands (formerly county) Air Ambulance and Shrewsbury Town Football Club.