LEDBURY Poetry Festival is in the mood to celebrate, after a former winner of the town's annual poet competition was announced as the winner of this year's T S Eliot Award.

Ledbury Poetry Festival manager, Phillippa Slinger, was in the audience at the recent awards ceremony, where the winner was announced as Jacob Polley.

She said: "Many outstanding poets were present for the £20,000 prize-giving ceremony: among which were Denise Riley and Vahni Capildeo, both of whom will be appearing at Ledbury in 2017

"There were whoops of delight as the winner, Jacob Polley, was announced for his collection “Jackself”, which judge Ruth Padel called 'a firecracker of a book'."

Phillippa added: "Jacob has a long standing association with the Festival. He was discovered by winning the Festival’s first ever competition, in 2001, as a callow 26 year old, and he went on to publish his first collection in 2004.

"Jacob has said how 'winning at Ledbury was wonderful', and that it was the beginning of a career which has now taken him all the way to the heights of the nation’s pre-eminent prize for poetry. Jacob actually appeared at last year’s festival as its poet-in-residence, running workshops, one-to-ones, and also performing poems from Jackself before it was published in October."

Phillippa said: "The Festival is genuinely pleased for Jacob with his richly deserved win, and it wishes him every success.

"Our 2017 competition will be launched this February and all are encouraged to apply. After all, Jacob did, and look where it lead."