A “tardis-like” brewing operation capable of producing more than 100 barrels of beer a week is set to arrive in a south Shropshire town.

Managers at the Three Tuns Brewery in Bishop’s Castle have announced plans to upgrade its facilities as part of a quarter of a million pound investment after record sales. This means the Bishop’s Castle-based business will bring its brewing capacity to more than seven times its original design.

The brewery, which was founded in 1642, will now be updated to produce well over a hundred barrels of beer a week.

The record investment will be spent upgrading the brewery, carried on alongside the brewing process.

An ultra-modern brewery plant will now be installed through the work of a team of architects, engineers and designers.

Brewery owners John Russell and Bill Bainbridge said: “This is a most exciting time in the brewery’s history.

“We have come up with a plan to create a tardis-like operation which the Victorians would have been proud of, a five-tonne brewery kettle will be hoisted through the tiniest of gaps on the second floor of this unique tower brewery.

“Six years ago, with the help of its customers and the support of local townspeople in Bishop’s Castle, the brewery was saved from certain closure. The previous owners were intent on closing it and turning it into housing.”

This increase in investment will bring the money spent on the brewery to more than half a million pounds. This investment will safeguard and expand the workforce in an area of relatively high unemployment and supply more than 150 pubs with ale.

This further expansion comes hard on the heels of a successful foray into the bottled beer market.

Cleric’s Cure, the Three Tuns Brewery’s premium brand, is exceeding all sales expectations, bosses have revealed.

Real ale drinkers can now sample the bottled brew around the country.

Some of the investment has been provided by the South Shropshire District Council Low Carbon Communities for Business Grant Scheme.