STEPS are being taken to link Swindon with modern astronomy's spiritual hometown in Poland.

The Evening Advertiser revealed in January that local town twinners were considering a link-up with Torun, the birthplace of the father of astronomy, Nicolaus Copernicus.

Now the first contacts have been set up between the two places and the job of 'selling' Swindon to the picturesque medieval town in northern Poland has begun via e-mail.

Stan Pajak (Lib. Dem, Eastcott), who is due to become Swindon Mayor next month, has just made initial contacts with Torun officials to explore the possibility of an official link.

And Coun Pajak, who hopes to tie up a link with a town somewhere in Poland during his mayoral year, will also attend a twinning conference near Gdansk in the middle of next month.

The mayor-to-be, whose father Joe came to Swindon from Krakow after the Second World War, will be accompanied by another prominent member of Swindon's 3,000-strong Polish community, Mark Sarnowski. They will be taking promotional literature designed to attract developers to Swindon to the conference, while people in Torun have been busily logging on to Swindon's websites to get a better idea of what the town has to offer.

At first glance Torun, founded in the 13th century and boasting 300 imposing medieval buildings, might appear to have little in common with hi-tech, industrial Swindon.

But both towns are about the same size, both are also railway towns, and Mr Pajak said he thought Swindon had plenty to offer its picturesque potential partner.

"There's nothing too good for Swindon.

"It has some very good features and is also a very historic place.

"Swindon is also in a fantastic location with places like Avebury and Bath within a stone's throw away. It's all here," he said.

Swindon already has official links with Salzgitter in Germany and Ocotal in Nicaragua, as well as informal links with France, Italy, and Finland.

But Mr Pajak believes that the town cannot afford to stand still in furthering its links with Europe, and that Poland is a particularly good choice given the large Polish community here.

www.gopoland.com/wheretogo/torun www.torun.pl