LEGENDARY cricket commentator Henry Blofeld and former MP and BBC war correspondent Martin Bell are among the star attractions at this June's Leominster Festival.

Both are popular speakers. "Blowers" can draw on an amazing gallery of cricketing anecdotes. He is speaking for half his normal fee and profits will go to the appeal for the new swimming pool going up in the town.

Martin Bell won fame as he covered the Balkan conflicts in his "lucky" white suit. His experiences in Sarajevo turned him into a champion against injustice. He was independent MP for Tatton for four years after winning a safe Tory seat.

The Festival programme is still being finalised but some interesting names have been pencilled in. They include the monks of Tashi Lhunpo monastery in Tibet, with a workshop and a concert of their own music.

Leominster Choral Society begins rehearsals on Tuesday for their summer concert at the Festival, when they will sing the popular The Armed Man: Mass for Peace by Karl Jenkins.

The 11 musicians of the London Concertante present a concert that includes Tchaikovsky's Serenade for Strings and the Festival ends on June 12 with the Birmingham Philharmonic Orchestra playing Rachmaninov's Second Symphony.

The Festival runs from June 3 and its brochure should be ready towards the end of March.