Ledbury Poetry Festival is in line for a three-year funding deal with Herefordshire Council.

This follows a study by the authority which concluded that the event had the strongest community roots of any county festival it supported.

This year, the council gave £5,000 to the poetry festival for marketing and publicity.

The recommendation for a three-year deal, which would help give the festival a solid base on which to plan, will be considered by Hope End councillor Roy Stockton, the authority's spokesman on social development.

The total budget for the poetry festival last year was £128,000, with funding coming from business sponsorship, the Arts Council, Herefordshire Council, the EU and the Market Towns' Initiative.

A Herefordshire Council report on the festival says: "This is one of the youngest festivals under review, but from small beginnings it has grown to be one of the most respected poetry festivals in the UK.

"Out of all the festivals, Ledbury came across the strongest in terms of its roots in the community. Evidence was given that the festival has fostered local pride, local involvement and local ownership."

One example singled out for particular praise was the poems from schoolchildren displayed in shop windows.

Festival director Dr Charles Bennett addressed the council team which drew up the report at a meeting at Ledbury Rugby Club on November 13.

He said of the outcome: "It's very good news and I'm extremely pleased. It's what we hoped for.

"I look forward to seeing more details of this."