THE annual May Fair returns to Hereford next week with up to 200 showmen and women due to descend on the city.

The three-day festival will feature the usual mix of heart-stopping rides and food stalls and reaches Hereford having spent three days in Leominster.

Kicking off the fair on Tuesday afternoon will be the traditional offering of 12-and-a-half bushels of wheat made by the Mayor of Hereford Len Tawn to the Lord Bishop as payment for allowing the fair to proceed.

"Showmen from all over the UK will give excitement, fun and laughter from riding the heart-stopping white knuckles machines to bumper to bumper fun, not forgetting the thrills of the children and traditional rides," said Abie Danter, chairman of the South Wales and Northern Ireland Section of The Showman’s Guild.

As usual, some city centre streets will be closed from Monday until the early hours of Friday morning.

These routes will be Commercial Street, St Peters Street, St Owen Street, Broad Street - below the junction of West Street and East Street, King Street and Bridge Street.

Some parking, loading and unloading areas will also be closed in these streets as well as Union Street.

In addition, Widemarsh Street, from its junction with Blueschool Street and Newmarket Street, and High Street will be closed to traffic from 4.30pm - 11pm on each of the fair's three evenings.

Meanwhile, the southern end of Berrington Street will be two-way between St Nicholas Street and Little Berrington Street and motorists are asked to take extra care if using this route.

All of Gwynne Street will be two-way.