That's a lot of beer!

I'm duly impressed by the dedication shown by a team of British drinkers.

A dedicated team of pub goers have drunk themselves into the record books by carrying out the longest ever pub crawl.

The four men have just visited their 14,000th pub across the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland.

They have spent 24 years travelling to every corner of the country and have downed and estimated 84,000 pints of real ale, working out at 21,000 pints each.

The foursome - Peter Hill, 52, John Drew, 45, Karl Bradley, 45, and Joe Hill, 77 - began their mission in 1984. Because three of them work, their pub going is confined to Sundays and holidays.

Yet despite their travels, the cheapest pint they have found is only a mile down the road from where they live and costs 89p.

The men, all from West Bromwich, struck on the idea after getting bored going to their local all the time.

They started out determined to conquer the 250 pubs in Worcestershire and Herefordshire, but quickly revised their plans to a grander scale.

This week they called in at the Stags Leap, Rugeley, Staffs, their 14,000th pub. It also means they have now drunk in every pub across 11 English counties.

They entered the Guinness Book of Records for drinking in every English county, but remain determined to have a pint in every pub in every pub in the UK and Ireland.

Mr Hill said: "It turned from being a bit of fun to a serious hobby. We have raised thousands of pounds for local hospitals though which has made it all worthwhile.

"We have got hundreds of stories to tell from our pub adventures. At times we even slept in a field with sheep after finishing in the pub! Farmers would often let us sleep in their barns."

He said there have been up to twenty drinkers in their team but most have fallen by the wayside after getting married.

I'm amazed that some of them managed to find the time (and the sobriety) to get married!



Peter