A pint of beer in Shropshire is cheaper than almost anywhere else the country, according to a study published today.

The average price of a pint of bitter or real ale in the county was found by researchers from The Good Pub Guide 2010 to be £2.54 – 14p below the national average which stands at £2.68.

And a Shropshire Star survey reveals ale lovers in the south of the county pay even less on average.

The Shropshire Star found drinkers in south Shropshire enjoy the cheapest pint, excluding promotions, with an average price of £2.47.

But from the same sample the Shropshire Star found the cheapest pint is just £2 at the All Nations pub in Madeley, Telford.

Overall, Telford has the next cheapest pint in the county, with drinkers paying an average of £2.48.

In north Shropshire the price is £2.50, and the equivalent in Bridgnorth comes in at £2.55.

The most expensive pints of bitter or real ale are found in Shrewsbury and Oswestry, where the average price rises to £2.63 and £2.69 respectively.

Fiona Stapley, editor of The Good Pub Guide 2010, said of the guide’s research: “Shropshire is at the bottom end of the price range which is good news. Shropshire drinkers are getting a good deal – in Surrey the average price of a pint is £3.01.”

She added the range of locally brewed ales in Shropshire had helped to push the price of a pint down.

“It’s known that if you want to find good value then head for a pub that brews its own beer because it’s an average of 33p cheaper than branded beers,” she said.

Free houses tend to fare best in the battle to give drinkers the cheapest pints.

John Ellis, landlord of the Crown Inn at Oakengates said: “If you are free to buy, you should be able to sell at lower prices. Our cheapest ale is £2.20 and our most expensive is £2.50.”

And Debbie Lingford, landlady of The Crown Inn, Newcastle near Clun in south Shropshire, added: “You don’t have to pay a fortune for a pint. We put on local real ales – we have a Hobsons from Cleobury Mortimer and a Stonehouse from Oswestry permanently on.”

Pint prices at the Crown Inn range between £2.20 and £2.35.

According to the Good Pub Guide study, the West Midlands, Nottinghamshire and Staffordshire provided the best value for beer, with prices averaging around £2.40 a pint, while further north, Cheshire, Cumbria, Derbyshire, Lancashire and Worcestershire registered ‘reasonable prices’ of around £2.50 a pint.

The survey found prices in Surrey had broken £3.

By Ben Bentley