CAMPAIGNERS fighting for a fair deal for the world's poorest farmers gave away free bananas to shoppers in Ipswich to mark the town's first year of Fairtrade status.

CAMPAIGNERS fighting for a fair deal for the world's poorest farmers gave away free bananas to shoppers in Ipswich to mark the town's first year of Fairtrade status.

A gorilla - councillor Sandy Martin in disguise - and members of the steering group handed bananas out on the Cornhill to help promote the products before attending a celebration reception hosted by mayor David Hale.

The event was part of a week of events, which included launching an art competition for primary school children, a Rwandan evening, and writing a Lent letter to all the town's churches suggesting instead of giving up something, worshippers could take up using Fairtrade items to help others.

Carole Jones, chairman of the Fairtrade town steering committee, said it had been a very successful first year, with the group encouraged by the support from the community and the commitment of several large shops and producers to use and sell Fairtrade goods.

“It has gone very well and we hope to continue to keep our status as a Fairtrade town for the future,” she said.

“It took three years of work to gain the status and we have a lot of work to do each year to keep it - making more people aware of the campaign and encouraging even greater commitment from the whole community.”

The campaign works to ensure poorer farmers and producers in the developing countries can get a fair price for their goods.