Knitters are set to descend on Lowestoft's "gorgeous" seafront for a new festival aimed at supporting local businesses.

Mother-of-two Laura Bailes left her minimum wage pharmacy job two years ago to start work as a self-employed yarn dyer and knitting pattern designer.

After establishing the East Anglia Yarn Festival, which saw more than 1,100 visitors attend in Norwich earlier this year, the 32-year-old is now bringing festival fun to her hometown with a Stitches on the Sand event this weekend.

Taking place at the Hotel Victoria on Sunday, August 14, the mini-marketplace will feature 12 vendors, with many from the local area.

Mrs Bailes said: "We want to encourage visitors to pop up to our amazing marketplace, full of vendors that they would only usually find at much bigger shows, then head down to the beach, grab themselves some fish and chips on the way and then sit and craft on the beach.

"I've lived in Lowestoft for the past 10 years, having grown up in Beccles, and I quit my job to work around my kids.

"I was travelling to yarn shows around the UK and some of them were having 7,000 visitors, but we had nothing like that in our area.

"We put on a relatively small event in Norwich and there were hundreds of people turn up, and next year we're going to make it even bigger.

"I wanted to bring something to my hometown because we have amazing and gorgeous beaches and we're at the start of the rejuvenation of the town, even if it is still quite overlooked.

"This is something a bit different and I wanted to support our local businesses who have done such an amazing job to pull through the last few years with Covid."

Building on the success of the East Anglia Yarn Festival, next year's outing will take over the Norfolk Showground Arena, and will also include social events and teaching.

The marketplace will close at 2.30pm, when vendors will move to South Beach to knit on the sand.

To book tickets, go to: www.eastangliayarnfestival.com/stitches-on-the-sand