A large crowd turned out for the annual tradition of wassailing at Sheppy's Cider between Wellington and Taunton.

The ancient celebration aims to scare away evil spirits from the apple trees and ensure a good fruit harvest.

Wassail gets its name from an old English term “waes hael” meaning “be well”.

A spokesperson for Sheppy's said: "There are several types of Wassailing tradition (most involving hot spiced alcohol) but the important one for all cider-makers is blessing their apple trees for the following years harvest."

Cider is poured as an offering, and the ceremony involves lots of noise to scare away the evil spirits.

There was food, a bar and a band playing music during the event on Saturday evening.

See more pictures in this week's Wellington Weekly News