THOUSANDS of people are flocking to the Dales Festival of Food and Drink.

The three-day event started today at Leyburn, North Yorkshire.

It began in 2002 as a one-off festival to help farmers recover from the foot-and-mouth outbreak, but was so well supported that it was staged again in 2003, and has grown since then.

This year's festival features 80 local food producers, plus a Farming for Food tent, with sheep shearing, dry stone wall making and brewing. Visitors can also try milking a model cow.

The festival runs from 10am to 5pm, from today until Monday.

Tickets are £6 a day, £9 for a three-day pass, free for accompanied children under 16 and £3 for unaccompanied children.