Pubs are pumping for the Cheltenham Festival crowd

The cold weather certainly wasn't dampening spirits in Cheltenham's pubs and on its streets as the festival atmosphere came to the town centre.

Throughout the morning, pubs and bars hummed with activity while betting shops and other stores enjoyed the start of one of their biggest weeks of the year.

And following the ground inspection at 10.30am and the confirmation that the day's racing would go ahead, festival-goers were able to get into the full swing of the day.

In the Bank House in Clarence Street, Peter Michael was enjoying his first year as a pub manager during the Cheltenham Festival.

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Part of the JD Wetherspoons chain, the Bank House opened at 8am on Tuesday and by 11am had already seen more than 1,500 customers coming through its doors - more than four times the usual number.

Staff were brought in to match demand. Mr Michael was managing a team of 20, compared to the staff of four which usually works on a Tuesday morning.

He said: "We normally open at 7am but we decided to leave it until 8am to give us more time to get ready.

"There was never any doubt in my mind that racing would go ahead - we knew that the ground was covered.

"This is great. We can expect a lull after lunchtime when everyone goes off to the racecourse but it will really pick up again this evening.

"All the staff are enjoying themselves and making sure that the punters have a good time."

Among those who had started the festivities early was Tom Simons, 32 from Gloucester, who was one of a party of 12 heading to the racecourse.

He said: "It's my first time at the festival so it's exciting to be here and I'm looking forward to the day's racing.

"It's cold outside but we're getting warmed up in the pub beforehand and once the racing starts we'll be fine."

Stephen Carpenter, aged 68 from Tewkesbury, said he was looking forward to visiting the festival once again.

He said: "I have been going to the festival for more than 20 years. It's a great event.

"It's a shame the weather's so cold but every festival is different and this one should be just as good as all the others I've been to.

"I'll be going all week. I love the racing and the atmosphere's always electric."