A POPULAR transport festival is set to return to Basingstoke this weekend after a 16-month break due to Covid-19 restrictions.

Basingstoke Festival of Transport (BFoT) will be held at War Memorial Park on Sunday, August 22.

The show is expected to feature more than 700 vehicles and attract around 20,000 people.

The festival will have vehicle displays, stalls, autojumble, children’s entertainment, food and drink.

One of the largest of its kind in the south of England, BFoT was first held in Basingstoke 30 years ago when the Thornycroft Society organised it on the old Thornycroft factory site in Worting Road.

One of the founder members of the Thornycroft Society Mervyn Annetts of Mervyns Coaches will be attending this year’s show with two of his coaches, including the 1949 Bedford OB, which appears regularly on TV and can often be seen in Agatha Christie period dramas.

This year’s festival is organised jointly by the Thornycroft Society and Basingstoke Deane Rotary and supported by Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council.

One of the guests at this year’s show is former rally driver and winner of the Monte Carlo Paddy Hopkirk MBE who will be visiting the Institute of Advanced Motorist’s stand during the show.

The festival will be free to attend for public, but there will be a £2-charge for the car park which is accessed from London Road.

You can enter the festival from 11am to 4pm.

For more information, visit www.bstokefot.co.uk, or enquire at 01256 597463.