Stop Press: National Market Town Awards

Spalding and Evesham have jointly won the first ever National Market Town Awards. Judges praised Spalding's Pumpkin Festival for exemplifying market town regeneration, and Evesham's Rediscovering Evesham's River Avon Heritage, which uses physical improvement to link parts of the town. Julian Owen, chairman of national promotional body Action for Market Towns, said: "The projects in both towns illustrated how improving the physical appearance of the town encourages investment."