Whitstable Oyster Festival is set to return this year for an "extended period of merriment" in a welcome boost for traders.

The popular family-friendly weekender takes place every summer, usually during July, to mark the town's most-celebrated delicacy.

It features traditional events such as the vibrant oyster parade, the landing and blessing of the oysters, a food fair, the "mud tug" and building "grotters" - small candlelit mounds of oyster shells - on the beach at sunset.

There's even an "oyster crawl" through Whitstable for the most hardened mollusc enthusiast among us.

While some locals opt to avoid the huge crowds during the busy period, the festival brings a big boost of trade to local businesses and is a fixture on the local calendar.

However, it was was shelved last year due to the pandemic following a "difficult decision" amid the extension of Covid-19 restrictions.

But in a welcome boost to town traders and festival-goers, the organisers have announced it will return again this year.

A statement posted on the festival's Facebook site read: "Hey there lovers of all things aquatic. It is with a sense of great excitement and anticipation that we bring you the news.

"The 2021 Oyster Festival will be going ahead. Following the recent announcement of the road map out of the pandemic, we have been working hard to confirm the oyster festival returns for an extended period of merriment this summer.

"We will be bringing you dates and more detailed information soon."

But the decision comes amid troubling times for Kent's local shellfish industry which has been adversely impacted by the UK's departure from the EU, as reported by KentOnline earlier.

It was hoped the controversial export ban sparked by Brexit would end on April 21, but the EU has confirmed it will remain in place indefinitely.

Read more: All the latest news from Whitstable