One of the organisers of Fiver Fest, which returns to Maldon High Street next month, has said she hopes the event will help local businesses after a difficult year during the pandemic.

Allison Gray, who owns Willow & Fox at 30 High Street, said businesses "are very excited about the return" of the Totally Locally Fiver Fest.

She said: "With High Street businesses still struggling after the long period of lockdown, we hope that this will get locals back through our doors to showcase what we have to offer."

Maldon businesses will be offering shoppers £5 bargains for the festival, which aims to highlight the importance of the High Street and allow residents to support local independents while saving money.

The festival is run by Totally Locally, a grassroots High Street movement which has been supporting independent businesses and encouraging people to shop locally since 2010.

Its return to Maldon follows the success of the campaign last October and, more recently, in June.

Allison said: " Last year the October event was a huge success.

"The timing is particularly good for shopping for Christmas gifts.

"Last year, we saw customers doing a trail from one shop to another and saying it had been fun to find shops they'd never visited."

Organisers hope to publish a visual trail between participating shops this year to be shared online.

The festival is set to take place in Maldon over two weeks between Saturday, 9 October and Saturday, 23 October.

To find out more about the event, you can visit the Fiver Fest website using the link here.