HEREFORD'S Shire hall was packed with quizzers, all wanting to beat the Beast, Mark Labbett, star of the ITV quiz show The Chase, who lives in Bartestree.

None of them could better the ace quiz man.

The three highest scorers went head to head against Mark in the final, but failed to defeat the towering 6ft 6in quiz champion, who also performs on The Chase in America and Australia.

Katy Chambers, 27, of Whitecross, Hereford, who was due to have her first baby this weekend, was a good bet to win having already been a TV winner on The Chase and a £125,000 winner on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?

Andrew Bailey, in his 50s, a company director and quiz enthusiast of Little Dewchurch, said it had been a "fun night".

Matt Taylor, 27 of Bartestree, a journalist on The Spectator is a team member at the weekly quiz at city pub the Victory, and is a previous winner of the annual quiz championships at the Shire Hall.

The three finalists on Friday evening were presented with bottles of gin from the sponsors, the aptly named Chase Distillery.

The charity event was staged by Radway Bridge Garden Centre and Hereford Lions Club in aid of the MS Society.