A new drinks festival is being launched next month to give beer and gin lovers the chance to enjoy a tipple in one of the county's most iconic buildings – while supporting local cancer patients.

AbbeyFest is a new collaboration between Shrewsbury Abbey, and Lingen Davies Cancer Fund, which supports patients and their families going through cancer treatment at The Royal Shrewsbury Hospital. The charity has also launched several initiatives designed to provide support and advice to those living with cancer in the community. Proceeds will be split equally between Lingen Davies and The Abbey.

The drinks festival will be held on Friday, November 26, and Saturday, November 27, inside The Abbey as part of its new events programme – giving people the chance to celebrate pre-Christmas fun and festivities.

Live music and food will be on offer, and it is being run by Darren Tomkins of Gindifferent in the Shrewsbury Market Hall.

It is the first event of its kind in the town’s Abbey and is being sponsored by Oswestry-based Aico, fire safety experts.

Lizzy Coleman, events and fundraising officer for the charity, said everyone involved with the charity was very excited to be working in partnership with Darren and the staff at The Abbey, and thanks to the support of Aico Abbeyfest is going to be a great addition to the town’s calendar.

“It’s great to be able to organise events again,” she said. “We are very pleased at this collaboration and AbbeyFest will be a great event for the town.

“We all saw how popular the recent Oktoberfest was, there’s a real appetite for people to do things again and it’s great people can get together in this way again and enjoy some festive fun.

“We will be running on Friday, November 26 from 5pm, and on Saturday November 27, from 2pm. People will be able to book tickets, or turn up and enjoy our well stocked bars, entertainment, and food choices, in the wonderful surroundings of The Abbey.

“People can book through our website where there’s more information available,” she added.

To find out more about the work of the charity visit the website .