Inch’s Cider Devon: I poured 3 crates of cider down drain in protest over ‘stolen’ brand name

Video shows staff at a village shop pouring a famous brand of cider down the drain over its 'stolen' name.

Shopkeeper Redmond Hanlon, 74, ordered his staff to tip three crates of Inch's Cider away when it was delivered to the store.

Inch's Cider was born in the village of Winkleigh, Devon, having been created by postman Sam Inch. Sam’s son, Derek, took over the business and the multi-million-pound firm was acquired by Bulmers in 1996. The site was later shut down and lots of villagers lost their jobs.

David Bridgman, who had worked for Sam Inch, resurrected the cider factory. David wanted to honour original founder Sam Inch but was unable to use his surname due to it being owned by Bulmers (now owned by Heineken). He named the new tipple Sam's Cider instead.

Redmond, who runs Londis-branded Bakery Stores in Winkleigh, said: "We get what they call an allocation from Londis once a month or thereabouts, and in exchange we get a retrospective discount on some of our purchases.

"It's worth it because we can usually sell everything that they send us… but not this time. I'm not going to sell Inch's Cider… We could just chuck it down the drain and say what we think of Inch's."

Inch’s cider is a product of HP Bulmer Limited, owned by Heineken, which has been approached for a comment.