When ex-rocker Alex James pulled out of hosting the annual Charlbury street fair, organisers never imagined that a Hollywood legend would step up and take his place.

But that is exactly what happened last weekend when Sexy Beast star Sir Ben Kingsley accepted his last-minute invitation from organisers to open the fair.

The actor, who won an Oscar for his performance in Gandhi, lives in nearby Spelsbury and opened the two-day event accompanied by his Brazilian actress wife Daniela Barbosa de Carneiro.

Margaret Jowett, chairman of the street fair, said they had been pleasantly surprised by Sir Ben's acceptance after it transpired that Mr James had been double-booked.

She said: "He opened the fair with a very sincere speech and presented the prize for best fancy dress."

"He also joked that despite living in the area since 1995, he would only be accepted as a 'local' when he had lived here for 15 years."

This year's street fair, which took its theme from the title of epic spaghetti western, The Good the Bad and the Ugly, kicked off on Friday with a showing of the film at the Memorial Hall.

On Saturday, Sir Ben officially opened the fair and crowned Charlbury's new young King and Queen, Neil Spendlove and Abbie Williams.

Egg throwing, morris dancing, and a classic car display, also featured at the fundraiser.

And local band Slainte, meaning 'cheers' in Gaelic, kept revellers dancing in the streets with their brand of Celtic rock.

The entertainment continued into Sunday with fun runs and a 10km dash from Charlbury through Cornbury Park.

Secretary of the street fair, Susie Finch, said: "It was an absolutely fantastic weekend.

"We never approached Sir Ben before because we thought he would be far too busy and we couldn't believe it when he accepted.

"He was very amusing and gave a lovely, sincere speech."

The event was a culmination of nine months' hard work and organisation for the street fair team, an effort that organisers said had more than paid off.

Early calculations indicate that the fair made a record amount of money for the upkeep of the towns' Corner House and War Memorial Hall.