DRINKERS can toast the 800th anniversary of the borough of Gosport with a beer created specially for the occasion.

Oakleaf Brewery has come up with Gosport 800, a golden, malty 8.0 per cent ale that fuses hop character with toffee and caramel flavours.

Managing director Dave Pickersgill, pictured above, said the brewery at Clarence Wharf Industrial Estate wanted to do something special to mark the anniversary.

In 1204 Bishop of Winchester Godfrey de Lucy made the first formal acknowledgement of Gosport's existence.