Children given free books at literature festival

The event was hosted by Katherine Rundell, who said it was 'extraordinary'

More than 1,000 children have been given a free book each to mark the start of Bath Children's Literature Festival.

The event began on Friday with a session hosted by well-known children's author Katherine Rundell.

"Events like this are extraordinary, for the children to be able to see a wide range of writers, it can be transformative," she said.

Organisers of the festival hope to give away 5,000 books before it ends on 7 October.

Bath Children's Literature Festival is Europe's largest dedicated event of its type.

Co-founder John McLay said: "The magic of the festival is bringing the kids into these big rooms with their favourite authors and hearing them speak.

"When I grew up we didn't do events like this.

"Bath is a city with one of the highest ranges of socio-economic indicators, and many families in our county might not have books at home," he added.

Ms Rundell told the BBC it was a "fantastic event."

"It's a real honour to be allowed to talk to so many children at once.

"Children's books offer them a sense of the world that is colossal, it is such a privilege and a duty not to talk down to them and offer them anything that's thin or bogus," she added.