NEW events are being considered for Dorchester this year to boost tourism in the county town.

They include proposals for a comedy festival, drawing festival and a courtroom opera.

Each has been awarded a £1,500 grant to develop their ideas.

The events are in addition to the town's annual literary festival planned for October and September heritage events.

The Keep military museum also has special events for the year, including one to mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day.

Heritage Days will return to the town between Friday, 6 September and Sunday, 15 September  to include free museum visits, guided walks and events in High West and High East streets.

Additional signage is also being considered around the town – at the Millstream and at Wollaston Field car park which has the remains of Roman Baths beneath it, partly excavated in 1977; and for the water meadows which may become a joint project with Stinsford parish council as most the meadows lie within the parish.

Consideration is also being given to public statues for notable women characters from Dorchester's history including the Mary Moule, Mary Channing and Martha Brown.

Research shows that in Dorchester the town currently celebrates six men, one dog, a Queen, and a horse.

In the 1800s Mary Moule worked alongside her husband, the inventor of the earth closet, to improve sanitation for the slums of Dorchester; Martha Brown was the last women to be sentenced to death at Dorchester prison in 1856 for murdering her husband after he had attacked her with a whip, and Mary Channing in 1706 was burnt at the stake in Maumbury Rings for poisoning her husband, after a trial which featured virtually no evidence.

Social media projects underway already to promoted the history of the town and its heritage attractions include Discover Dorchester now having 3,000 followers on Facebook and 9,000 using the website every month.

Other proposals include a "Day out in Dorchester" campaign aimed at attracting visitors already in Dorset during July and August with leaflets listing summer events in the county town to be distributed to holiday accommodation across the county.

A September campaign is also being prepared focusing on groups who can take breaks outside of school holidays.

A single list of key and major attractions in the town throughout the year is also being prepared.

The town's next main event, following on from this weekend's Dorchester Beer festival, is the Brew Dorchester event from February 15 to 18, including walks, talks, demonstrations and tastings.