A Wiltshire walking festival has been given an unexpected boost in bookings by one of its local town wags.

Someone – who has so far remained nameless – has changed a banner for the Bradford on Avon Walking Festival by altering the L to N.

The typographical change has resulted in a dramatic boost in page views and bookings over the past few days.

Richard Craft, chairman of the organisers, Bradford on Avon Walkers are Welcome, said: “So far, there have been more than 80 comments on a post on local social media.

“We’ve seen and read them all – I suppose it’s all part of life’s rich tapestry.

“It’s given us a lot of publicity – we’ve had a lot of hits on our website over the past three days.”

Mr Craft says page views have rocketed to nearly 6,000, while the number of hits is approaching 3,000.

“We’ve no idea of who did it, but our bookings are now between 220 and 230 and we’re about 80 per cent full.”

The only downside is that the banner was being used each year; now organisers will have to order a new banner at a cost of more than £30.

The organisers have been forced to take the banner down from the wall at Culver Close playing field – even though locals were chuckling over the incident.

To see the posts click here.

 https://www.facebook.com/groups/spottedbradfordonavon

The annual festival is being held from September 2-4 and features 17 walks of varying lengths – sadly dogs are no allowed to come.

Mr Craft said: “Our aim is to attract people to the area as well as putting the town on the map.”

The three-day programme include walks of varying lengths taking in nearby towns and villages.

Some of the walks will take in Avoncliff, Box, Monkton Farleigh, Pewsey Vale and Tan Hill, and Mells in Somerset.

One of the walks involves a collaboration with the Kennet & Avon Canal and features a canal boat trip to Dundas Aqueduct at Limpley Stoke.

Some people will walk along the canal towpath and the others will go on the canal boat, with both parties swapping over for the return trip back to Bradford on Avon.

There is also a walk to the No.10 café at Avoncliff, and features tea and cakes.

There are still plenty of tickets left. To book a walk, go to www.walkbradfordonavon.org.