Melton by the Sea, a seaside themed extravaganza inspired by a similar event in Paris in which the banks of the River Seine are covered in sand, will be re-created in the Market Place on Thursday and Friday.

More than 25 tonnes of sand will be used to create the seaside scene to give punters a complete seaside experience.

There will be donkey rides, Punch and Judy shows, circus workshops, buckets and spades, traditional fairground rides and even 'Melton Rock' on offer!

The event hopes to draw thousands of people to the town as street entertainment, face painting, balloon modelling, flag making and sand castle competitions provide free entertainment for the whole family. A nominal charge will be made on any children's rides.

Melton will be kicking off the Leicestershire By the Sea events with the other market towns of Market Harborough, Loughborough and Blaby holding similar events throughout August.

The event has been organised and funded by Melton Council with additional support from the Melton Town Centre Partnership, Melton Promotions, Pera and the Town Estate.

There has been local business support offering free prizes for the competitions and goodie bags.

The Town Centre Management team have been working together on the project for 10 months to bring this new and exciting event to Melton.

Lisa Hammond, town centre manager, said: "Melton by the Sea is an event for the whole family to enjoy.

"We wanted to do something different for children and families during the summer holidays and hopefully we can be a good substitute for the real seaside.

"Paris does a similar thing but on a much larger scale, so why can't Melton do the same?

"We hope that families come from all over the borough to join the fun but we also want to attract visitors from further afield so that we can really showcase what Melton has to offer.

"Many of the activities and entertainment is free, enabling families to enjoy a fun packed day out at very little expense."

The fun kicks off at 10am on Thursday and the Mayor of Melton, Margaret Moore, will officially open the event at noon.