YOU can imagine what a cider called Suicide is going to do to your constitution.

But tasting the scrumpy along with amber nectars served in other pubs is all in a day's work for Newton Abbot's Manorial Borough.

Members of the Court Leet and Court Baron held their annual ale-tasting event which took in 15 watering holes around the town.

The ceremony dates back hundreds of years with town councillor Mike Hocking taking on the onerous task of tasting all of the ales at each pub within the bounds of the ancient borough to make sure they are fit for public consumption.

Ale tasting ceremonies date back to medieval times, when the Lord of the Borough would charge officers and jurors of the borough courts to ensure any ale sold in ale houses was of suitable quality.

In those days, ale and bread was the staple diet of the peasantry and the ceremonies would ensure bakers and brewers were not selling low-quality food and drink.

The modern-day event kicked off at 1.30pm on Saturday with visits to pubs including the newly-refurbished Ship in Wolborough Street, Union Inn and the Cider Bar among others.

Mr Hocking said: "It was a lot of fun, with a lot of warm welcomes from the pubs along the route.

"We tried some lovely ales like Speckled Hen and Otter and it was very good to see local ales being sold.

"In the Cider Bar, we tried a cider called Suicide which was lovely — very drinkable — although you probably wouldn't need much of it."

Each pub was given a certificate, just like days gone by, pronouncing their ales and ciders were good and wholesome.