A NORTH Yorkshire market town is celebrating autumn with its first ever festival for the season.

Bedale’s Autumn Festival runs all this week until Sunday, October 29 and has been organised by the newly formed business group, #brandbedale.

It includes a children’s Halloween Trail, an ale trail involving eight of the Bedale's pubs, a large “free to trade” market on Tuesday, October 24 and a pumpkin carving contest.

All week, businesses in the town are also taking part in a “witches in windows” contest.

Event organiser Laura Johns, from Four Teas Café, said Bedale Town Council had waived fees to traders to take part in the market, which is expected to double the size of the usual market.

She said: “The last free to trade market we had in July for Yorkshire Day really got Bedale buzzing despite the Yorkshire weather.

"We have had a great response and traders were keen to return.”

Entries to the pumpkin carving contest need to be submitted by 12 noon today and they will be displayed in the window of Thompson’s bakers.

There are also a number of other events going on in and around Bedale, including a Halloween Trail at Thorp Perrow, and a Halloween Spooktacular organised by Wensleydale Railway.