London (CNN) — beer festival held in an English churchyard has provoked a wave of controversy after pictures emerged of visitors reveling among the graves. Locals in the northeastern town of Stockton-on-Tees flocked to the 1,000-year-old St. Mary's Church for the St. Mary's Norton Beer Festival, which took place over four days and ended Sunday. One wrote: "This is disgraceful behaviour, not only from the people involved but from the church for allowing this to happen. Cemeteries are places for people to pay respects and remember their loved ones, they're not beer gardens, and those headstones certainly aren't stools or tables. Defending the event, the vicar of St. Mary's, Reverend Martin Anderson, said it had in part been staged to raise funds for repairs to the historic building.

Source: CNN September 27, 2021 16:07 UTC