North Walsham is set to forge links with a French town after a successful visit by town leaders.

A small civic party visited St Paul Les Dax, in south-west France, close to the Spanish border, and its members have returned home full of enthusiasm for setting up a twinning committee, independent of North Walsham Town Council.

Now the town council wants to hear from local organisations and individuals who would be interested in forging links with the resort, which has a population roughly the same size as North Walsham's, but which is about three times as big, and industrialised.

The town, in the Aquitaine region, is about five kilometres from the spa town of Dax and the popularity of the spas has led to three large hotels being built in St Paul Les Dax, trebling the local population at times.

The North Walsham visitors, who included new mayor Dave Robertson, his immediate predecessor, Vivienne Uprichard, and North Norfolk District Councillor Ann Moore, said they were 'treated excellently' during their stay, which coincided with the final round of the French presidential elections.

Twinning ideas could include sport, cookery, or comparing north Norfolk's coastal erosion with St Paul's thermal activity.

Included in the group's itinerary, which featured archery, a trip to a market, hot springs, and the coast, was a visit to the count and they were then invited to a reception held by the victorious socialists to celebrate the election of their candidate, Francois Hollande, who ousted Nicolas Sarkozy from the presidency.

? Anyone interested in the twinning should contact North Walsham Town Council on 01692 404114. North Walsham already has a German twin, Friesenried in Bavaria.