Beers brewed in Suffolk and north Essex were awarded bronze medals in a prestigious real ale competition tonight.

Adnams Ghost Ship, brewed in Southwold, took third place in the “strong bitter” category at the Champion Beer of Britain Competition, while Colchester brewery’s Colchester No.1 received joint bronze in the “best bitter” section.

The awards, organised by the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA), comes after almost a year of local tasting panels and regional heats to seek out the best beers across the UK.

Final judging for the competition was held tonight at a giant beer festival, which is expected to welcome more than 50,000 people to Olympia in London, where they can sample their choice of more than 900 beers, ciders and perries.

Bingham’s Vanilla Stout brewed in Berkshire, was named the overall winner of the competition.