FIREWORKS, firing cannons and flotillas will mark a four-day celebration of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee in Southwold.

The town's proposals for the occasion have been unveiled this week, with live music, a civic celebration and a lunch for dozens of people all helping to usher in the Queen's 60th year on the throne.

A programme of events, which has not been finalised yet, will take place from Saturday, June 2 to Tuesday, June 5 when the Queen will officially celebrate the day.

Meanwhile, the town is expected to be awash with red, white and blue as people put up their Jubilee decorations and hold street parties.

The mayor of Southwold, John Windell, said: 'We do have good celebrations in Southwold and we are quite pro-active when it comes to working together.

'I was very heartened at the events meeting to see lots of people turning up and throwing out ideas. Because of the distinct areas of the town we can have different people organising different activities over the course of the celebration.'

An initial plan for the Jubilee weekend was presented by the events working group at a town council meeting on Tuesday night.

It revealed that celebrations would kick off on the Saturday when the High Street, East Street and Queen Street would be closed so local businesses and craft sellers could put up stalls outside.

Live music will also be playing throughout the day with buskers entertaining people passing by and a live band playing in the Market Place from 7pm until 11pm.

On the Sunday, town councillors will process to St Edmund's Church where they will take part in a civic celebration.

This will be followed from noon with The Big Jubilee Lunch, where it is expected 50 to 60 people will pack the Church Hall.

But for those looking for action and excitement, events will be taking place from noon at the harbour, where people can take part in a tug of war, or watch flotillas sailing from Lowestoft to meet with Southwold boats for a regatta.

Elsewhere on the Monday, the Lions Club of Southwold (Sole Bay) will hold a fair on the common, before the crowds move to Gun Hill for food, fireworks, the firing of the cannons and the beacon being lit.

Proposed plans for theTuesday have yet to be put forward, but it is believed there will an event towards the pier end of the town.

Speaking about the proposal for The Big Jubilee Lunch, Mr Windell added: 'There is a lot of elderly people in Southwold who have lived here all their lives and they might not want to go down to the harbour, so I hope the Big Lunch will be a celebration for them.'

Meanwhile, the chairman of Southwold Chamber of Trade, Guy Mitchell, said: 'It will need to be carefully planned, but the chamber are looking at all ideas, the budget and resources to make it a great weekend for everyone in Southwold.'