WARRINGTON’S real ale drinkers are hoping to once again raise their glasses this month to toast a unique achievement.

The town’s CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale) group attempted to break the world record for the largest toast during National Cask Ale Week.

More than half a million people are believed to have taken part in April and now they are waiting to see if the record has been broken.

Kevin Yates, manager of The Albion Hotel on Battersby Lane, said: “All pubs taking part had two official adjudicators who took photographs and counted heads in order for the record attempt to be valid.

“The Albion was the nominated pub for Warrington centre where more than 40 enthusiasts were asked to ‘drink up and be counted’.”

The Yates family moved to Warrington from The Baltic Fleet in Liverpool last Christmas.

They have started selling a range of real ales and hosting beer festivals featuring drinks from around the world.

Kevin, aged 24, said: “We seem to be bucking the trend of pubs dying on their feet as our trade has increased dramatically thanks to the real ale.”

The Albion has been included in the Good Beer Guide 2009 and Kevin says funding has also just been confirmed by CAMRA for the production of a ‘Warrington real ale trail’ leaflet next year.

He added: “The next step is to open our own micro-brewery ‘Albion Ales’ in our old coaching-house, allowing us to brew our own beers onsite, available from The Albion and other pubs around Cheshire and the north west from August.”