VILLAGERS of a certain age in Goostrey will remember man's first steps on the surface of the moon not because of the courage of the astronauts - but the greatest knees-up ever on the night it happened at their local pub.

The 17th century Crown Inn launched itself into the Space Age with a special brew of a ‘Moonshine Punch’ in a bash to celebrate the Apollo 11 landing 50 years ago.

And as the only pub in Britain to be given an all-night drinking extension it drew visitors in droves to swell the ranks of regulars already packed inside.

The idea of the party on the night of the landing by then landlord John ‘Cobby’ Lawton and his wife, Margaret, appealed to magistrates, who agreed it should remain open due to an expected influx of journalists and scientists monitoring the moon landing at the nearby Jodrell Bank radio telescope.

But even before the Eagle landed and Neil Armstrong could utter his famous ‘That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind’, the doors had to be shut in the early hours in the face of a mass invasion of drinkers from all over the country.

Then just as everything was getting into full swing time was called when the fire brigade turned up and everyone was evacuated because of a reported fire somewhere on the premises.

This put a premature end to the party, and most stumbled off home filled with Moonshine to watch the rest of the drama unfold on TV as Armstrong, with his companion Buzz Aldrin, took their first steps on the lunar surface.

"I don't think there has ever been such a party like it at the Crown, and it was sad it ended as it did,” said a regular who was there on the night.

"Personally, I have always thought the fire brigade was called by a disgruntled drinker locked outside because the pub was full."

However, Stewart Smallwood, whose family home is next to the Crown, said: "My own recollection is that when smoking in pubs was allowed, coupled with the huge number of people, the extractor fans were pumping out so much smoke onto Main Road someone thought the pub was on fire.

“They called the fire brigade, which turned up with blues and twos to add to the excitement.”

Whatever, it was a night to remember, and the Crown's own contribution to the historic moment.