CHILLI fans are invited to spice up their lives as Abingdon hosts the Oxfordshire Chilli Festival this weekend.

The Market Place will be taken over with chilli-themed events and live music tomorrow.

Organiser Dawn Massam said a chilli-eating contest, while there will be a cook-off with a top prize of £200. She said the festival would offer eaters the chance to taste some of the hottest chillis but also to appreciate some of the peppers’ finer flavours.

The 34-year-old said: “There has been a real explosion of people trying to come up with the hottest chilli. But there have also been people who are trying to make sure it is also about the taste.”

As well as live music on the day, there will be a performance at the Crown and Thistle by Mark Morriss, of 90s band the Bluetones.

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