Derby County promotion party nets bumper takings for city pubs

Derby County won promotion back to the Championship on Saturday

Derby County's promotion back to the Championship was not just good news for Rams supporters - it also provided a welcome boost for the city's pub landlords.

Thousands of jubilant football fans headed into Derby for a promotion party on Saturday following their 2-0 win over Carlisle United.

The weekend-long celebrations led to bumper takings for pub managers - and even beer shortages.

BBC News spoke to some of the city venues where supporters partied hard.

'We took a week's takings in a day'

Steve Kirk ended up missing the match

Steve Kirk, landlord of fan favourite The Neptune, said he decided to open up extra early on Saturday morning and ended up having to miss going to the match himself due to how busy the pub became.

He said: "I was planning to open at 06:30 but due to the big queue outside at 06:00, I had to let a dozen in from around 06:10 and by 07:00 we were at full capacity - it was hectic.

"We had over a week's worth of takings in one day but it took it's toll. I did a 14-hour shift and staff did 10-hour shifts because we simply couldn't keep up with the demand.

"I heard the whole town was packed, every pub packed and that's what we want. We need things like this, we needed it."

'Our busiest weekend in 10 years'

Alan Pickersgill said the promotion was great for the city

Alan Pickersgill, from The Brunswick Inn, near Derby railway station, said he sold between 2,500 and 3,000 pints over the weekend.

"The weekend has been great for the city," said Mr Pickersgill.

"It's been one of the busiest weekends in over 10 years of being here. Across the whole city centre we had queues outside of pubs, it's great that the fans were out in full support."

When asked if he was glad the football season was over, he said: "No I'm not. In some respects I want it to start again tomorrow."

'It's been really beneficial to us'

Alex Mount said the pub ran out of one beer brand

Alex Mount, assistant manager at The Bless in Chapel Street, said it had been great for pubs in the city to see such large crowds following tough times for the hospitality sector.

"It's been really beneficial to us," he said.

"Pubs tend to get hit really hard at the moment and it's been great to have a weekend like this one.

"We ran out of two draught beer products by the end of the night, so it was pretty heavy hitting on the stock.

"I'm pretty sure we sold upwards of over 1,500 pints alone on Saturday, so more than usual but it's a good thing."