Town marks King Offa's coronation

Offa's Dyke path is about 170 miles long

A Powys town is hosting a celebration to mark the 1,250th anniversary of the coronation of a king who built the ancient border of Offa's Dyke.

Knighton is the only settlement straddling the huge earthwork, which was built by King Offa to fortify the boundary between his land and Wales.

Mayors and officials from towns along the dyke have been invited to attend the celebration.

Offa's Dyke path stretches about 170 miles from Chepstow to Prestatyn.

Offa was king of Mercia from 757 to 796.

He built an ancient linear earthwork consisting of a plain bank, which in places reaches 60ft (18m) high.

Knighton was hosting the ceremony on Saturday

According to tradition, it was built to fortify the boundary between Offa's kingdom and the lands of the Welsh, and for centuries it marked the England-Wales border.

The special event in Knighton on Saturday has been organised by chairman of the town forum, Roger Bright.

He said Knighton was thought to be the only town in the UK celebrating the crowning of Offa, with entertainments including a fancy dress parade, archery, storytelling, jugglers, dancers, minstrels, various stalls and a pig roast.

Special guests invited to the event included the mayor of Tamworth, Staffordshire, where King Offa built his palace, and the mayor of Lichfield, where he had his parliament.