RAISE a glass at a Weymouth pub and you could potentially save a life.

The Wyke Smugglers pub in Wyke Regis is hosting a cider festival with a community twist.

All the proceeds of the event will go to help buy a defibrillator for the community.

The festival, which was launched on Friday and will go on for a week, offers several special ciders. Four barrels have been donated by Dorchester Beerex beer festival, thanks to CAMRA and the Dorchester Round Table. Local cider maker Dorset Star has also donated a barrel.

Wyke Smugglers landlord Rhos Thompson said he had noticed other defibrillators around the county. He said that although there was one in the local doctor’s surgery, it wasn’t available 24 hours.

He said: “I noticed there wasn’t one in our area. This is just for the whole community to know it’s there.

“It’s a cause for something that everyone will benefit from.”

Mr Thompson thanked landlords Punch Taverns for allowing him to run the event. He said all the cider festival proceeds will go straight to raise money for the defibrillator.

Each defibrillator costs around £1,000. 

Mr Thompson said: “It’s going to be available, it will be there 24 hours a day.”

He said the local community was always very generous and urged people to come down and support them.

2017 Beerex chairman Adrian Patterson said: “When the team from Dorchester Beerex heard that Rhos was raising money to buy a new defibrillator for Wyke Regis, we decided to donate the spare boxes of cider from our recent beer festival.

“Proceeds from the sale of this cider will help buy this life saving equipment and train people from local businesses, making a difference to both the residents of the village and visitors alike.”

Dan Green from Dorset Star cider said they were delighted to donate a barrel.

He said: “I met Rhos at Dorchester Beerex and he told me about the event and we said we would be happy to be involved.

“To have a defibrillator in the local community is quicker than getting to hospital.”

He added: “Come and support your local community and drink some local produce. It’ll be a good event.”