Brits can score free pints this weekend

It's almost Thursday, which means it's virtually the weekend, right? And what better way to celebrate than with a cold one?

Well, this Saturday (3 August) is National Doodle Day, and to mark the occasion, the good folks over at Beavertown are offering customers hundreds of free pints.

Intrigued? Of course, you are.

All you have to do is channel your creative side and draw a nice picture on a beer mat, hand it over to the barman and they will exchange it for a free pint of the brewery's Bones Lager.

Beavertown

But when they're gone, they're gone, so you'll have to be quick if you want to get your hands on a complementary quaff.

Discussing the offer, Nick Dwyer, Beavertown’s Creative Director, said: "I love this project because literally anyone can draw if they have a pen.

"Drawing, doodling, sketching – it’s great for the brain, and should absolutely be used as currency in the event of nuclear annihilation… because then I could be king. Failing that, using it to pay for our beer is also good!"

The promotion is on offer across the weekend at selected boozers in Manchester, London, Birmingham, Nottingham, Leeds, Liverpool, Newcastle and Sheffield.

Participating pubs:

• Old Blue Last, 38 Great Eastern Street, Shoreditch, London, EC2A 3ES
• The Roebuck, 122 Chiswick High Rd, Chiswick, W4 1PU
• Faltering Fullback, 19 Perth Rd, Finsbury Park, N4 3HB
• Trafalgar Tavern, Park Row, Greenwich, SE10 9NW
• Valderramas, 163 Upper Street, Islington, N1 1US
• The Queens Head, 64 Theobalds Rd, WC1X 8SF
• Corner Pin, 732 High Road, Tottenham, N17 0AG
• Kro Bar, 325 Oxford Rd, Manchester M13 9PG
• The Kings Arms, 11 Bloom St, Manchester, M3 6AN
• The Culinary Concept, 8a Barons Quay Rd, Northwich, CW9 5DE
• Dog House, 15-17 Church Rd, Liverpool, L15 9EA
• Bridge Tavern, 7 Akenside Hill, Newcastle, NE1 3UF
• Jam Jar, 88 Osborne Rd, Newcastle, NE2 2AP
• Hoist House, 6, 7 Wellington Pl, Whitehall Rd, Leeds, LS1 4AW
• Cherry Tree, 19 Church Street, Horbury, Wakefield WF4 6LT
• The Glass Frog, 363 Abbeydale Rd, Nether Edge, Sheffield S7 1FS
• Furnace Inn, 9 Duke Street, Derby, DE1 3BX
• The Hop Garden, 19 Metchley Lane, Birmingham, B17 0HT
• The G.O.A.T, 15 Broad Street, Nottingham, NG1 3AJ
• The Meatshack, 17 Thorp Street, Birmingham, B5 4AT
• Latitude 48, 96 High St, Exeter, EX31 1HR
• Fox & Hounds, Llanharan Road, Cardiff, CF72 9LL

One lad who could have benefited from a free scoop or two is Peter Lalor.

We've all had that moment of panic when you look back at you bank balance after a big sesh, but he was left sweating when he received the bill for what he described as the 'world's most expensive beer'.

Ian Rolfe/Alamy

The cricket writer had been staying at a Malmaison hotel in Manchester ahead of a match back in 2019 when he decided to go for a bottle of the Deuchars IPA at the bar, which was supposed to cost just £5.50.

However, when he checked his bank account, he saw that he had somehow been charged a whopping £55,300.

Recalling the incident on Twitter, Peter said: "I didn’t have my reading glasses when she presented me with a bill for the beer and when she had some problems with the machine I didn’t think much of it, but it was eventually resolved.

"I said I didn’t want a receipt and she went to leave. Something, however, made me ask: 'How much did I just pay for that beer?'

"She checked, covered her mouth, started to giggle and refused to tell me, saying only there had been a mistake and she would fix it."

"She ran to get her manager who took the situation far more seriously and went about attempting to arrange a refund. She told me somebody would be in contact."

A spokesperson for the hotel chain later launched an investigation into the incident.