SEA shanties will ring out throughout Lancaster again after the popular Maritime Festival was saved by spon-sorship.

And now the Easter weekend devoted to the sea should once again see thousands of people flocking into the city.

A campaign was started to save the festival when Lancaster City Council announced a cut in funding and then a matter of weeks later, the event picked up a prestigious Lancashire Tourist Board gong.

That award delighted organisers and now campaigners are over the moon with the news that outside funding has been found.

"It's great news and I am delighted," says Roy Denby, landlord of the Three Mariners pub, which is at the centre of the event.

"People do come into the city for the festival. It is a big attraction and everyone should be delighted that it is being saved.

"We have campaigned for this to come back and maybe, just maybe, all those hours of campaigning have worked.

"It is really great news for everyone on the quayside and throughout the city because we should be encouraging people to come here rather than telling them they cannot."

Cash from the council's Festival Innovation Fund could also be used after Morecambe's Punk Festival pulled out of the resort.

Cllr Ron Sands says: "I am delighted that Lancaster's much-loved Maritime Festival will take place again next year.

"We look forward to welcoming visitors from all over the UK and beyond, who are drawn to our district by the nautically-themed festivities.

"Our challenge now is to look at ways of facilitating a self-sustaining Maritime Festival in the future."

The event celebrates Lancaster's heritage as one of the busiest ports in the north of England and a gateway to trade with the Americas.

Traditional sea shanties are sung by groups who travel from all over the UK and abroad to take part in the carnival, which centres at the city's quayside and Glasson Dock.

This year, the council forked out over £30,000 to stage the festival but claims it does not benefit the city enough to justify the spending.

Matt Donlan