Wheelchair pub crawl to boost charities
It will be a pub crawl with a difference when two beer buffs and their friends stage a charity wheelchair race taking in five hostelries.
Dave 'Jenca' Jenk, who is bar manager at the Albion Vaults in Castle Foregate, and pub regular Pete Benbow will celebrate the new year by racing to four other pubs in Shrewsbury, aided by fellow drinkers who will give them a friendly push.
Pete, who is known to regulars simply as 'Benbow', has been in a wheelchair for more than 20 years, while Jenca lost his right leg earlier this year after being diagnosed with a blood clot.
They will leave the Albion at 1pm tomorrow, heading first to The Telegraph in Castlefields, then to The Brick in Abbey Foregate, followed by the Prince of Wales in Bynner Street and the Seven Stars in Coleham Head, before crossing the English Bridge for a push up Wyle Cop, and back to the Albion.
As part of the challenge, they will be required to drink a pint in each pub, and play a song on the jukebox.
As they and their helpers travel from pub to pub, they will also be holding a raffle in aid of mobility and stroke charities.
Chris Jones, who owns the Albion, and also keeps St Anne's Brewery which supplies the other pubs, said: “The aim of the fundraising event is to raise awareness of the need for disabled access in Shrewsbury pubs, and to be fully accessible to wheelchair users, with a wheelchair lift and disabled toilets."
