A CELEBRATION of asparagus kicked off in a Worcestershire village at the weekend.

The Vale of Evesham annual asparagus festival, at the Fleece Inn, Bretforton, near Evesham, has grown out of the historic asparagus auctions that have taken place in the area for generations.

This year's event started with the traditional auction on Sunday evening, when prices for a bunch of the county's finest vegetable reached record prices.

Jenny Smith, wife of the Fleece Inn's landlord Roger Smith, said: "We had a marquee here and it was absolutely full of visitors. The highest bid was £525 for a box of 120 asparagus spears - it was phenomenal."

The main focus of the week was festival day yesterday, when among other things, there were cookery demonstrations by TV's flying chef' Rachel Green, a craft fair, a farmers' market, silver band, craft fair and asparagus tasting advice.

Hotels and restaurants across the Vale will also be getting in on the act throughout the week, offering a range of asparagus menus.

The festival will be brought to a close at St Leonard's church on Sunday, June 3, with the annual asparagus service.