THOUSANDS of visitors are expected to attend the Midland Hotel’s 2019 Seafood Festival on Morecambe’s seafront this weekend.

Among the highlights will be tomorrow night's free-to-attend craft beer, ale and cider night; Saturday's ticketed surf and turf barbecue; and Sunday's seafood and farmers' market, the hotel's biggest to date, with a Laurent Perrier champagne and oyster bar, and a Pimm's and cream tea bar.

Event organiser English Lakes Hotels says it has been growing rapidly since 2016, with more than 5,000 people taking part in the last two years.

The Midland's general manager Mark Needham said: "Once again we’ve cast our net as wide as possible to invite the highest quality seafood producers and feature wonderful fare from the seas around Britain.

"That has included a team trip to Fleetwood fish auction with our supplier My Fish to source local produce for the weekend."

He added: "We’re looking forward to a fantastic celebration of fine seafood throughout the weekend.”

Sunday's market will feature more stalls than ever before, as well as a gin masterclass, cake and seafood demos, craft beers and live music from the Steve wren Quartet.

For reservations or to find out more about the festival, call 0330-4042674 or 01524-424000. Tickets for the BBQ are £20.