The British Council For Drinking More Beer (BCFDMB) rolled out their latest advertising initiative, a series of billboard posters to be prominently displayed in the Rochdale area, to mixed responses this afternoon.

“People simply aren’t drinking enough beer, and we want to rectify that,” Mr Tarquin DeFaarquhaar-Crisps of the BCFDMB told us in a phone-it-in interview.

“Britain is home to a staggering range of craft beers, real ales and cheap lagers, as well as a plethora of perries, shonky ciders, alcopops and lurid, day-glo bright blue concoctions that while being almost certainly carcinogenic are a lot of fun.

We feel that people simply aren’t drinking enough, and want to raise awareness that there is a beer, cider or fluorescent ‘tart fuel’ style beverage to go with any and every occasion, no matter how seemingly unlikely or distasteful.”

The advertising campaign has left an unpleasant taste in the mouths of some local residents however. We spoke (again) to a Mrs G. Duffy, who told us “I don’t like beer. I drink super strength cider. You wanna make something of it?”