THE Sausage And Ale Trail returns to Old Town for its fourth year on Sunday afternoon.

The event is expected to welcome thousands of foodies to Wood Street as punters will get the chance to sample sizzling sausages and try traditional ales in a street full of stalls.

The event runs from from noon to 5pm.

There will also be a variety of other tasty treats available around Old Town, including a charcuterie at the Tupenny, freshly-sourced meats at Wood Street Butchers, vegan burgers at the Core, and a Marco Pierre White-endorsed dish at Bardolinos.

Live music from Caitlin Bowles, GERTZ, and the Astral Ponies will be performed on stages in Wood Street and at the Swindon Arts Centre.

The Pantry is one of the 28 independent businesses taking part in the big event.

Manager Wanda Hawkins said: “We’re having a cake stall outside and offering Polish sausage and sauerkraut.

“It’s a really popular event, we sold out of sauerkraut last year.

“Everybody on the street gets involved, it’s great.”

Wood Street will be closed to all traffic from 10am to 6pm to accommodate the event, which is organised by the Old Town Business Association and sponsored by Switch On To Swindon.

Wood Street will be packed with stalls but other businesses in High Street, Victoria Road, Newport Street, and Devizes Road will also be joining in the fun.

Visitors can collect stamp marks from at least two of the venues to enter a prize draw for goodies.

The prizes include a hamper of artisan treats from Balulas, a meal for two at Bardolinos, five pints of ale from The Hop, a £10 voucher for Rays Ice Cream, three craft beers at the Tupenny, 500 soft-touch laminate business cards from Minuteman Press, and one day on The Core’s juice programme.

Pick up a Sausage And Ale Trail map from participating businesses to find out all the special offers available on the day and enter the prize draw.

Kris Talikowski, of The Core, is the vice-chairman of the Old Town Business Association

He said: “I think it’s amazing that this huge collection of businesses in Old Town can provide such a massive variety of food and drink and other services.

“It looks like we’ll attract even bigger crowds than last time with even more business than before and we’ve had really good support on our online pages.

“Though Wood Street is the centre, we’re encouraging people to visit places on Devizes Road and Victoria Road too with our new sticker collection competition.

“The key message this year is think local, we want people to visit their favourite places, try new things and support local businesses rather than just multi-nationals.”

Alex Pollock, from the Old Town Business Association, said: “Last year, about 3,000 people attended the trail, even though the weather wasn’t great.

“This is one of four main events we run each year to bring more visitors to the Old Town area.”

The Old Town Christmas Lights event will follow later in the year.

The Old Town Business Association represents more than 300 local businesses working together to improve and enhance the area and make sure Old Town remains a thriving hub.