A controversial pagan festival celebrating the harvesting season is expected to attract big crowds to Eastbourne.

Eastbourne Pagan Circle holds its annual Lammas festival on the seafront tomorrow with a brief ceremony on the beach following an afternoon of pagan music, dancing and story-telling.

Last year Tory-controlled Eastbourne Borough Council refused permission for the Lammas fair to take place on the Western Lawns, in the town, but organisers of the event went ahead near the Wish Tower, next to Western Lawns.

This year the Eastbourne Pagan Circle said a change of administration at the council had made it easier to organise tomorrow's event.

The festival has even attracted sponsorship from the Green Man Bookshop and Gallery and the festival was awarded extra funding for the event through the Awards For All scheme, which distributes National Lottery money to deserving community groups and voluntary organisations.

Jerry Bird, chairman of the organising committee, said: "We are delighted to be staging the event this year with the full and amicable co-operation of the council's tourism department."

The free charity festival will showcase traditional music, story-telling, folk dance and puppetry and visiting band The Morrigan, a folk-rock group who have travelled down from Salisbury in Wiltshire.

The event starts at 10.30am at Wish Tower slopes with Mel Myland's puppet workshop performing George and the Dragon, followed by dancing displays outside the Wish Tower cafe.

At noon there will be a procession of giants, dancers and drummers along the seafront to the pier, where more dancing will take place outside the Waterfront Bar.

The live music starts at 2pm near the lifeboat museum.

Throughout the day there will be a craft market on the Wish Tower slopes and a tent offering children's activities such as face-painting and mask-making.

The ceremony on the beach will start at about 6.30pm.

In the evening there will be a barn dance at the Winter Garden with traditional folk-dance band Rattlebone and caller Dave Rannie. Admission is £5.

Money raised from the festival will go to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.