THE Pershore Plum Festival has received a helping hand from a housebuilder.

Taylor Wimpey Midlands have donated £500 in sponsorship for the festival.

The festival, which was relaunched by a group of volunteers in 1996, has grown year-on-year to become one of the biggest events on Pershore’s social calendar.

Steve Knight, marketing and events officer for Wychavon District Council said: "It’s a very quirky event that attracts people from all over the country

“Pershore is a town with lots of history and because the festival has grown each year it’s been held, it has become an event that people and businesses from across the community really want to get behind.

“We had gorgeous weather at the festival in 2016 and more than 25,000 people turned out, so we are hoping to attract as many people, if not more, this year.”

The bank holiday weekend event at the end of August will include a food, beer and music festival, whilst the Sunday features a dog show, a 10k race, a new plum pedal push bike event and a firework display in the Angel Riverside gardens.

The Monday sees the culmination of the festival with the fayre day which includes the classic car show featuring more than 1,200 vehicles.

It also includes a farmers market, an abundance of stalls and a wide range of musicians and entertainers perform throughout the day to crowds from the bandstand in Abbey Park and Chapman Court.

In the next month, there will also be the new plum bike away, a specially-designed cycle route around Bredon Hill celebrating the area’s horticultural heritage.

Mr Knight continued: "The donation from Taylor Wimpey will be used to cover the cost of the entertainment on the Monday.

"As a volunteer-led event, the festival relies heavily on support from local businesses, charities and groups, so I can’t stress how appreciative we are of this donation.

"It will be a huge benefit to the people of Pershore and the continued success of the festival."

Anne Wallace, regional sales and marketing director for Taylor Wimpey, said: "As a local housebuilder, we are committed to supporting the communities in which we build homes, so we were delighted to make this donation to Pershore Plum Festival.

“Events like this really do foster community spirit and we are delighted to be playing a part in helping the organisers put on some great entertainment for the people of the town.”