A PUB has been honouring a colleague who died in a motorcycle collision with a drink he loved.
On December 22, 2018, Richard ‘Ric’ Oldham, from Whitchurch, died as a result of a crash on the B3400 near Hurstbourne Priors as he travelled to work at the Watership Down Inn, in Freefolk.
The 35-year-old was a well-liked member of staff at the pub, and so they have honoured him in their own way by selling some of his favourite drinks to raise money for road safety charity Brake.
The pub partnered with Long Dog Brewery to sell a special strain of pale ale at a beer festival the venue held last month, with half the money made from each bottle being given to the charity.
The beer, called Destonian Knight, is still on sale at the pub, with the bottle even featuring a picture of Ric on its label.
Lucy Arthur, marketing manager at the Watership Down Inn, said: “It was one of Ric’s preferred drinks, so it made sense to use the pale ale, and Long Dog helped us to identify the right beer and name.
“It was really popular, and we had a really high level of interest in the idea. The people in the pub really loved Ric.
“People really liked the beer, and we’ve never done anything like this before.
“This is our biggest event of the year and we thought that it was a fitting tribute to the great man.
“He was such a great person and it was a really simple idea that took off.
“We are really looking to increase the visibility of Brake and help them out while remembering Ric.”
So far, of the 400 bottles that were made in the bar staff members memory, more than 200 have been sold. From every bottle sold, £2 will go to the road safety charity, meaning more than £400 has been raised so far.
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