Tens of thousands of books will be on display as people are expected to pack a village hall for a book fair next month.

The book sale in Hilgay, near Downham Market, will be held from 10am to 4pm on Sunday, May 8 and will raise money Help for Heroes, which provides direct, practical support to those injured in the current conflicts.

The event is held twice a year and has raised thousands of pounds for charities and good causes over the years. The last village book fair in October raised �3,000 for the special care baby unit at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King's Lynn.

Hilgay butcher Ali Dent decided to start the book sale almost three decades ago after a customer gave him a few books and asked him if he could get rid of them.

He said: 'I took these books and after putting them with the few books I had lying around I thought I could raise some money for charity by having a book sale.

'I then had thousands of books arriving at my shop after word got around about what I was doing, so I had to change my plan of having the book sale in my shop and move it to the village hall.'

Mr Dent has more than 70,000 books in total, which have been donated by people from in and around Downham Market and also as far away as Norwich, but only half will go on display next month.

As well as the books, expertly sorted into categories, there will also be DVDs and CDs on sale. The biannual book fairs have gained quite a reputation in recent years and queues are expected to stretch down Hilgay High Street on the day.