Visitors to a big new tourist event will be able to skate in the open air in the summer.

A synthetic ice rink on the seafront will be a feature of a new event called Bognor Live.

The event is being planned at short notice to fill the void left by the row over the annual Rox Music Festival, which was to have been held on the seafront on August 3 and 4.

Earlier this month the organisers pulled out after a dispute with seafront traders and announced the festival would be moving to Fontwell Park racecourse on August 17-18.

The search immediately began for a replacement event because Rox had already been listed in the town's tourist brochures and information sheets.

A spokesman for the town council said Bognor Live would include music on the seafront and a steam fair.

He said: "The council has set up a special committee to plan the event and a lot of hard work is going into producing the two-day programme."

Tomorrow is the launch of Bognor's first farmers' market.

The town centre attraction featuring stalls selling locally grown produce will be repeated on the first Wednesday of June and July and could become permanent if it is a success with shoppers.