Up to 10,000 visitors are expected to converge on Saint-Lô at the end of this month to pick up a bargain, support local traders and craftspeople and help raise funds for charity.

The Rotary Club in the Manche market town has organised the annual fair for the past 25 years to attract public support for its charitable work.

The event takes place in the town centre on Sunday, September 26 from 9.30 to 18.30.

Initially designed to attract artists who wished to make themselves better known, it has grown to include a lively street market that attracts bargain-hunters from across the region, plus competitions, games and facilities for children.

The artists now occupy a vast tented village on the Champ de Mars, while the lively Quartier du Neufbourg in the town centre will be lined with more than 100 amateur and professional sellers offering bargain books, clothes, toys and games, among other items.

There are also bars, restaurants and stands selling food, many of them staffed by volunteer Rotary Club members and their families seeking to raise funds for the club.

The money raised on this day finances the club’s support for local charities and social organisations, as well as humanitarian work overseas. Each year more than €10,000 is donated to these causes.

For further information about the event, email Richard Evans at richard.evans20@wanadoo.fr