A one-off special edition beer has been brewed for this year's Maritime Festival in Great Yarmouth.

Some 900 pints, many of which have already been supped, have hit pubs and bars in the town as it gears up for its annual festival of all things to do with the sea, past and present.

Thousands are expected to flock to South Quay this weekend for the celebration which mixes music, food, entertainment, heritage and crafts.

And as boats bob on the Yare visitors can sample a 3.9pc Ruby described as 'quite fruity'.

Maritime Ale has been brewed by Paul Hodgson, 51, at Tombstone Brewery, a stone's throw from the quayside in Stonecutters Way.

Mr Hodgson's saloon bar is among those that will be selling the beer and some venues have already sold out.

It has already been available at the Kings Arms in Northgate Street and at the Oliver Twist where it has reportedly gone down a treat.

A donation for each pint sold will be made to the Norfolk and Norwich Association for the Blind (NNAB) in recognition of the help and support given to Tombstone barman Ian Ling.

Mr Ling, 27, from Southtown was born with an incurable condition retinitis pigmentosa which is gradually robbing him of his sight. Already he has lost his peripheral vision and developed night blindness.

He said research and work was ongoing to find a cure and that he was touched by Mr Hodgson's fundraising gesture.

Mr Hodgson said he hoped to raise several hundred pounds for the charity.

Maritime Ale will also be sold at The Leopard pub in Norwich.

Tombstone saloon bar has just celebrated its successful first year in its current home. Mr Hodgson first set up in Estcourt Road but moved to a former cafe in the town centre where he had space not only to brew a range of Wild West themed beers but also sell them in his own bar.