THOUSANDS of people have been turning out for the fifth annual Great Dorset Chilli Fest in Wimborne this weekend.

Live music, cooking demonstrations, plants, a chilli eating competition, falconry and more than 100 stalls attracted visitors to the Shaftesbury Estate at Wimborne St Giles from as far away as the Czech Republic to come to the two-day event.

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Miles Halton, the festival's director, said: "We were expecting 6,000 people on the Saturday as the weather has been perfect.

"The majority of the stalls are chilli-related and there is a big market for it in the UK. We have chilli sauces, farmers, pickles, burgers and more. We also have a few things for those people who don't like chilli, so everyone feels included.

"There are 126 stalls in total including the caterers. We get hundreds of applications but we want to choose who comes along to the event, otherwise it could become just another food festival, who have brought food from Thailand, India, Morocco and Mexico.

"It could be huge but then it would just dilute the chilli element."

Thus Perera and Chris Howard from Chancham, a company which makes marinades and pepper sauces, heaped praise on the event.

Thus said: "This is our third or fourth year at the event and it is a great show. We do a lot of food festivals, but only a couple of chilli-specific festivals and we pick up a lot of repeat customers."

Gillian Burgis from Fallen Angel Brewery, which creates a range of beers and ciders including some containing chilli, said: "This is the first time I've been here, but we've had the stall here several times before. For me, it's a nice family event and it's out in the open, which is nice.

"With our chilli beers, you can still taste the beer, rather than just tasting the chilli and it feeling like it's blowing your head off. We also make a cider which a lot of people say tastes like champagne, but it's cheaper."