Blind man is first to pull pints at beer festival

It is believed Kevin Ramsey will be the first blind person to work at the East Anglian Beer and Cider Festival

A man who lost his sight about seven years ago will be the first blind person to pull pints at a beer and cider festival.

Kevin Ramsey will be serving at the East Anglian Beer and Cider Festival at St Edmundsbury Cathedral.

Mr Ramsey, a volunteer with Suffolk Sight, previously pulled pints at one of the charity's functions and wanted to give it a go on a larger scale at the event in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk.

Geoff Staff, chair of trustees at Suffolk Sight, said he expected the customers to "love" the new barman.

Mr Ramsey explained that Mr Staff would give him a count of "one, two, three, stop" to help him serve drinks in measures of a third of a pint, a half-pint or a pint without overtopping the glass.

"I want to be able to prove that we can do it so it helps other people to see if they can do it," he said.

Festival organiser Paul Cooper said he believed it was a first for the festival to have someone with sight loss serving.

"I think there's going to be a big queue at the bar. I'm going to be at the front of it," he said.

Geoff Staff (left), Kevin Ramsey (middle) and Paul Cooper were all excited about the beer and cider festival

Mr Ramsey has spent some time training for the festival, which is running until Monday.

It involved getting a feel of the area around him as well as for the beer casks, ready for the 30 hours he will spend there in aid of Suffolk Sight.

Payment for drinks will be taken by someone else working with Mr Ramsey.

"A person who has experienced sight loss has a much better awareness of their space around them," Mr Staff said.

"Kevin is absolutely amazing. He's fantastic at learning the space around him and within a very short amount of time, he knows how to serve somebody and he's just brilliant with people.

"The great thing is that the punters love it, too. They like that experience; they cannot believe it. There's a buzz around Kevin."