AN ale launched to raise money for a charity that helps bomb disposal veterans sold out in just five hours.

Four hundred bottles of The Longest Walk were brewed at the recently Broadtown Brewery after one of its earliest regular customers told staff about the Felix Fund.

Owner Jason Bayliffe explained: “Retired major Duncan Young was with us in the beginning of when we started as he lived in Lyneham and we delivered to him regularly.

“He mentioned to me about the Felix Fund and what it does.

“I said to their CEO Melanie Moughton, 'wouldn’t it be amazing if we could do a beer for you guys?'

“With Melanie’s permission we took the logo and made a beer specific for the regiment named The Longest Walk ,which is the regiment’s motto.

“We made a beer that everybody likes and straight down the line.”

“It’s amazing, having met with Melanie and seen what they do for veterans, it’s phenomenal and that’s why we’re happy to associate ourselves with them.

“Being part of Royal Wootton Bassett, it’s a military-based town and a big part of what we do. We have a lot of military come here to sample and try the beers.

“Everybody associated with the EOD has a buy-in to their own regiment and it’s something for their cause.This beer came as something from the charity, this wasn’t a beer to help us make sales, this was a beer to gain charitable funds to the Felix Fund.

“And that’s why we had to make a beer that everybody would enjoy rather than just a particular type of people, we wanted to brew something that everybody would like.

The Longest Walk is a IPA with a citrus, floral aroma and a strong yeasty taste with hops providing some bitterness to the beer.

An event for the Felix Fund in the brewery’s hop gardens has been organised for next September and an Oktoberfest is taking place there next month.

Melanie said: “Like all charities we have seen a drop in income over the past 18 months due to Covid so the sales of this beer will be a welcome fundraiser for us and help raise awareness of one of the smaller military charities.

“We are very grateful to Broadtown Brewery for their support and hope to put on a large festival with them next September.”

The fund provides preventive stress training and was set up 10 years ago because of need for specialist help in the wake of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts.