Contenders will gather in Abingdon this weekend, hoping to be selected as mayor of an Abingdon street.

The town's Mayor of Ock Street contest has been a feature of life in the town since 1700.

On Saturday, the present Mayor of Ock Street, Stuart Jackson, is making his seventh bid for the title. Mr Jackson, of Larkhill Road, is one of four contenders, who all belong to the Abingdon Traditional Morris Dancers.

On Friday evening, club members will distribute ballot papers to Ock Street, and neighbouring streets with access to the main road.

Residents in the new Brewery development will be eligible to vote.

Ballot papers must be returned outside the Brewery Tap between 10am and 4pm on Saturday. Morris dancing is planned throughout the day around the town.

Another Abingdon tradition takes place on Sunday, when the town mayor leads town councillors and members of the public on a walk of the old town boundaries.

The walk -- revived two years ago by former mayor Lesley Legge -- starts from the Market Place at noon and finishes two hours later in the Abbey Grounds, where the council will stage a teddy bears' picnic.