THE Good Morning Britain team braved a drizzly Bournemouth Beach today, as the town made last minute preparations for what it hopes will be a bumper Easter weekend.

Good Morning Britain’s weathergirl Laura Tobin used the beach as a backdrop to present the nations weather – and to give out clues in the channel’s ‘Golden Easter Egg Hunt.’ But for Bournemouth’s director of tourism, Mark Smith, the television event represented the perfect launch-pad for the bank holiday weekend and the start of the town’s tourist season.

Mr Smith said: “It has been fantastic to have Good Morning Britain down here to film just before Easter, perfect exposure for the resort.

“We are expecting it to be a bumper weekend, this really is the start of the season for us and to get so many people around the country seeing Bournemouth ready for action is great.”

Mr Smith said that after the winter nearly £4 million has been spent preparing the seafront ready for the season, and that seven million people are expected to flock to the resort over the summer.

He added: “The weather forecast is looking good for Saturday and Sunday, so that should bring a lot of people out, and after seeing it on television this morning we are expecting a lot of day visitors as well as weekend visitors to the resort.”

Scores of local residents and holidaymakers joined the production team on the beach, where a large sandcastle had been built - decorated with plenty of chocolate Easter Eggs.

Laura explained: “It is great to have been in Bournemouth today. Many people have popped down despite this damp, drizzly weather. It has all been about the Good Morning Britain golden egg hunt.

“The hunt is on somewhere in the Bournemouth area. Clue number one is ‘at the mouth of the River Bourne where it flows past the trees, flowers and lawn’ If you want to locate the giant egg you need to have the second clue and the all-important code word.”

Visit the Good Morning Britain website for more details on the hunt