PREPARATIONS are well under way for this year's Mapp Fest music festival, set to be the biggest and best so far.

The festival, being held on Saturday and Sunday, June 18 and 19, at Link Common, features some of the best bands and solo artists from in and around Malvern.

Among the performers in this year's line-up are Cynic, the Dogs Of Santorini, Slack Granny, Massive Head Trauma, Lounge Toad, Miss Pearl and the Rough Diamonds,and the Black Heart Angels.

And the acoustic tepee will feature appearances by Jack Of All, Tone Tanner, Retinal Circus, Stuart Wolfenden, Chewie, Martin Thorne And Company, Red Dawe and Sam Eden.

The festival is the brainchild of Malvern music lover Andy Mapp, who stages it each year to raise money for charity. Last year. it raised £6,400 for Acorns Children's Hospice and the Motor Neurone Disease Association.

And this year, the chosen charities are Acorns again, St Richard's Hospice and Community Action Malvern and District.

One of the highlights of last year's event was a flypast by the Red Arrows, and this year, Mr Mapp has managed to arrange appearances by the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight on both days of the festival.

And among the other attractions this year are a 240-foot water slide, a wide variety of food and drink, a raffle featuring major prizes donated by Malvern businesses, children's entertainers and much more.

And to make it easier for people to attend without causing parking problems on the site, Mr Mapp has arranged a park-and-ride scheme from the Victoria Road car park in the Link, with Community Action providing the minibus transport.

He said: "I've been working with the police and council to ensure the festival doesn't cause traffic or parking problems.

"Although I've been granted road closure notices for Graham Road between Worcester Road and Moorlands Road, I'm going to do my utmost to keep the road open. We will put out no-parking cones and as long as people observe the restrictions the road will remain open for the weekend."