Organisers of this year's Wells Pirate Festival are planning to make a splash - after a rebellion in the ranks saw the popular event saved from closure.

The East Coast Pirates Association will run this year's swashbuckling shindig, after former planners, Wells Maltings Trust, said they would not be able to host the event this year.

Former district councillor, and ex-mayor of Wells, Joyce Trett said: 'It's looking good, as long as the weather stays fine.

'It will all be centred around the harbour.

'We're opening on the Friday at 6pm, with a flag raising, and then kicking things of at 7.30pm with the smugglers' ball.'

The event will run throughout the weekend of September 15-17, with all manner of piratical shenanigans taking place, including: a march of the pirates down to the quayside, a pirates' market, reenactments, a tug-of-war, and even a trial of the mutineer.

The association hopes to recruit the RNLI to stage a mock rescue of the mutineer - who will be made to walk the plank.

Other events include a best-dressed child pirate competition, with the best boy or girl taking home a prize.

The adult section will be judged later in the evening, at Tallulah Trollope's Pirate Bingo.

The Wells Pirate Festival previously raised money towards the £5m redevelopment of the town's historic maltings building.

The Wells Maltings Trust, which has organised the festival for several years, stated that with great regret they had decided to cancel this year's festival.

They said in a statement: 'The redevelopment of The Maltings has meant that there is a lack of space for some key events which we'd hoped to relocate, but this has proved impossible.'

However, Wells residents - of land and sea alilke - banded together to save the popular festival from closure, and arranged a full program of events, with music, stalls, and events on in Wells until Sunday, September 17.

There will also be boat trips to Pirate Island on offer on both the Saturday and the Sunday.

Organisers wanted to keep the event running - and hope that in future years it will rival Sheringham's 1940s event which takes place on the same weekend.

More details are available at http://www.wellsmaltings.org.uk/ahoy-all-pirates/