Liquorice festival celebrates town's sweet history

The Pontefract Liquorice Festival parade, pictured here in last summer's sunshine, took place in the town centre

A street festival has taken place to celebrate the sweet-making history of a West Yorkshire town.

Pontefract cakes are said to have been invented in the town by a local chemist in the 1760s and sponsor Haribo has been based there since 1972.

The Pontefract Liquorice Festival included market stalls and parades with "sweet-themed outfits", the company said.

Tabea Powell, of Haribo UK, said the liquorice festival was a "real source of local pride".

Pontefract cakes were thought to have been invented by chemist George Dunhills who added sugar to medicinal recipes in the 1760s

The mayor of West Yorkshire, Tracy Brabin, was among those attending the event.

Pontefract was the first town where people could vote in private, when the ballot box was introduced in 1872.

It was sealed with the traditional liquorice stamp of a castle and an owl, a modern version of which is still found on Pontefract cakes.

Jon Hughes, Haribo UK & Ireland's managing director, said the "incredible" connection between liquorice and the first secret ballot demonstrated the rich history of the region.

"At Haribo we are proud of our Yorkshire heritage," he said. "Through our recent investment in a new warehouse at our Castleford site and headline sponsorship of the Liquorice Festival this year, we are committed to Yorkshire for the long term.”

Ms Powell, of Haribo UK, said the festival "brings together residents and sweet-lovers to celebrate what is thought to be Britain’s oldest treat".

"It is an event for everyone and celebrates the town's rich sweet-making history,” she added.

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