TAVISTOCK Lions Club and Rotary Club members are keeping their fingers firmly crossed for fine weather this weekend, when the Westcountry Balloon Fiesta returns to the town.

Up to 30 hot air balloons will be floating in the skies above the town on September 4 and 5 — provided the weather is calm and dry.

After a break of three years, the fiesta returns to the Tavistock calendar thanks to substantial sponsorship from Robert Wiseman Dairies, a company that procures, processes and distributes more than one in four litres of fresh milk consumed in Britain every day and which has sites in Pensilva and Okehampton employing almost 200 local people.

The fiesta also received a generous grant from Tavistock Town Council, the members of which were delighted to help with the return of this most popular event.

Duncan Carrick, Wiseman's senior sales manager for the area said: 'We are delighted to be supporting the Westcountry Balloon Fiesta in Tavistock and help it get back off the ground.

'Our sponsorship of the event not only supports the West Country Wiseman brand and our customers, it also allows us to support the community where we have many employees and to help raise money for local charities.

'Our own black and white balloon with the registration G-OMOO was at the last Fiesta and we are pleased to be making a return this year. Our road show will also be at the Fiesta so visitors will have the chance to sample our products, talk to our staff and perhaps even buy a pair of our infamous Wiseman wellies!'

With the construction of the athletics track and all weather pitches at the previous venue of Tavistock College, the fiesta has been relocated to a smaller site along Crowndale Road beyond the junior football pitches. However, the change of site will not mean that the event will be any less spectacular and the organisers plan to allow visitors much greater access to the ballooning arena prior to launch so that they can have a closer look at the hot air balloons and the associated equipment.

There will also be the opportunity to take part in crew games but because of the smaller site, there will not be the arena entertainment that there has been in the past.

There will, however, be bouncy castles for the children, food outlets and a licensed bar with live music run by Tavistock Round Table plus a numbers of charity stalls. There is still room for further charities to attend and anyone wishing to do so should contact Simon Like on 01822 614278 as soon as possible.