THE LANCASHIRE and Blackpool Tourist Board has been named as the sponsor of Darwen's first food festival.

Tourism chiefs hope the event will attract thousands of people to the town later this year.

Final details are being put together by Blackburn with Darwen Council, which hopes to help the town cash in on its reputation for excellent eating establishments.

The event will be held from September 7 to 10. The programme looks set to include giant country markets, brewery tours, ale trails, gourmet rambles and ghost walks, celebrity chef days and gala evenings, beer festival, chef's cricket match, Tudor banquets and hog roasts, and exotic Lancashire-Asian cuisine.

The exact details are due to be confirmed later this month.

The event is the first major tourism project since an investigation was carried out by Lancashire County Council and Blackburn with Darwen Council into how more people could be attracted to the West Pennine Moors.

One of its conclusions was that many people already travelled to the area to enjoy foodie' activities such as eating out in restaurants and pubs but many more did not know about the variety of venues on offer.

Overall, the event will be called the Pennine Lancashire Festival of Food and Drink, using the name widely expected to replace East Lancashire later this year.