FOOD lovers get ready to whet your appetite.

Wonderful aromas will drift across Romsey town centre on Sunday (September 6) when the community celebrates all things food with the annual Food Festival and organisers hope they have found the perfect recipe to pull in big crowds.

There will be over 70 stalls of locally produce will be dotted around the town between 10am and 3pm.

Sarah Bingham from the organising committee said: "We got about 75 stalls. Last year we had about 5,000 people at the festival. We are hoping for even more will come along this time. The festival will be spread across the Hundred and Latimer Street. There will be live music at town centre locations."

Mrs Bingham and her husband Paul are managers of the town's White Horse Hotel.

"This is Romsey's fourth food festival and it is all about promoting local produce and we want people to come along and enjoy themselves," added Sarah, who pointed out that as soon as one festival is over, work starts on planning the next year's.

"We go around the stalls at the end of each festival and stallholders say to us, book us for next year," concluded Sarah.

Farmers from across the area are staging a market in Alma Road to run alongside the food festival.

Organisers are also bringing in Hampshire's highly popular mobile farm- Kidsrome which is based at Mattingley, near Hook. Children will be able to see farm animals close-up without having to visit the countryside.

Other attractions for youngsters will be Jake's Circus act and face painting. There will also be crafts and cake-decorating at the food festival along with live music in the White Horse Hotel courtyard.

While the food festival in on Latimer Street and the Hundred will be closed to traffic.