POLISH delicacies and hearty staples of the eastern European diet will be on sale at a three-day market in Southampton.

Residents will be able to taste the food and drink of the city's largest immigrant community at the new Polish and eastern European Market.

Polish bread, meat, soups, pancakes, éclairs as well as candles, Russian dolls and grilled cheese savouries are just some of the delicacies and products that will be available.

There will also be a great range of biscuits and tarts baked on site by Sebastian Marec.

For those with a sweet tooth there will be some fabulous polish fudge, caramel, dried fruits and nuts.

A Polish Street Bar and Cafe will serve up traditional Polish sausages to wash down with Polish beers and ciders.

City centre bosses hope it will create "a unique shopping experience".

Southampton City Council has teamed up with Market Place Special Events to put on the event - one of the first cities in the country to do so.

Great opportunity Ian Rothwell, Southampton City Centre Manager, said: "This is a great opportunity for the city's shoppers to experience the eastern European culture.

"With an increased Polish community in Southampton, the market hopes to bring a united multi-cultural aspect to Southampton's society."

Ian Hill, director of Market Place Special Events, said: "We are absolutely delighted to bring this exciting new market to Southampton. The traders have all heard how wonderful a city it is and are looking forward to coming.

"We are very excited with this new initiative as it creates not only small business development opportunities for our expanding eastern European communities but it also creates employment opportunities as well."

According to Southampton City Council's latest estimate, there are between 8,000 and 10,000 Polish immigrants living in the city with several thousand more from other eastern European countries.

The market will be held in Bargate from Saturday, August 18 to Monday, August 20.