YORK city centre has been bustling over the past few days thanks to this year’s York Food and Drink Festival, which has been praised by traders and shoppers.

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The festival started on Friday and runs until October 2, and Parliament Street was packed over the weekend with shoppers keen to see what is on offer.

Among the stallholders at the festival is Suzi Ainley, from The Pickled Porker, which sells smoked meats and Yorkshire tapas.

She said: “It is good for local businesses. I think York is a beautiful city that we’re all proud of. It’s great to see the centre so busy.

“It is nice that there is a collection of really good quality Yorkshire businesses.”

Danny Frizza, who owns Pizza Fritta, added: “There’s a good selection of food and drink stalls. I’m very pleased with the festival.”

‘The Chilli Jam Man’, Simon Barrett, is also running a stall at this year’s festival.

He said: “It’s back to the days of old. It feels a bit more like it used to feel. There’s a bit more atmosphere. Last year there was only one row of stalls. This year there’s a more varied offering for the public.”

Shopper David Smith, who had travelled down to York from Sunderland, said: “I came yesterday [Saturday] and everything looked great. I came back today [Sunday] to have another look around and buy some stuff. There’s a good variety of stalls.”

Michelle Mulligan, from Newcastle, who was visiting York for the weekend, said: “Everyone is really friendly. The stalls are fab. There’s lots of choice of food and lots of free samples as well.”

However, not everyone is pleased with the festival. York resident Jonathan Sage said: “I think it has been much better in previous years.

"There’s too much street food and and not enough ingredients.”