Last weekend's Masefield Festival in Ledbury is being hailed as a great success, attracting around 250 people to a string of performances and events.

The festival was organised by The John Masefield Society as a tribute to Ledbury's most famous son, the former Poet Laureate.

Society chairman, Peter Carter said: "The festival started with Roy Palmer and seven friends singing sea shanties and reading rollicking nautical poems in The Royal Oak on Friday night. A good time was had by all and the jam session, Speed the Plough, which closed the evening sent the crowd into foot-stomping rapture".

The highlight of the festival was 'The Poets Laureate' on Saturday night, with Anne Harvey and Hugh Dickson in a packed Burgage Hall. The accent was on the 20th century with John Masefield, Poet Laureate from 1930 to 1967, occupying pride of place alongside Robert Bridges, who preceded him, and C Day-Lewis, who succeeded him.

The small exhibition on Masefield which was in the Burgage Hall throughout the festival proved so popular there are plans to sent it out on tour.

Twelve images of old Ledbury had been gathered from the Tilley archive, enlarged and mounted with quotations from Masefield.

Mr Carter said: "Its first outing may be the Town Meeting on April 27, which would be a fitting opportunity for the John Masefield Society publicly to thank the Town Council for generously supporting the Festival."