Dishing out a three-metre long sausage landed the Dorchester Mayor a spot in some German newspapers and on TV.

Cllr David Taylor was pictured demonstrating his knife skills in the Dorset town's German twin town of Lubbecke during an official visit. One of his earlier jobs was work as a chef in the Salisbury area.

He made the trip with members of the town's twinning association and the Durnovaria Silver Band and was joined there by the mayor of Dorchester's French twin town, Bayeux.

“We had a fantastic weekend...it was an incredible experience and we were well looked after,” he told town councillors at their meeting this week.

“I was asked to help with a three-metre bratwurst which was picked up by the national press,” he said. The event was part of the annual Wurstmarkt where giant sausages are cooked and given away.

The Dorchester group were visiting to mark the 45th anniversary of twinning with the German town.

Mr Taylor says that in addition to the press interest while he was in Lubbecke he was phoned by Der Spiegel magazine on his return for a longer interview which included asking his views on Poundbury – which he says he portrayed as very much a welcome addition to the town.

The weekend included guided tours and official functions, including the initial civic reception with music from the Durnovaria Silver Band, led by musical director Elizabeth Carter, and the Lubbecke Symphony Orchestra. The Dorchester musicians also played at one of the churches on Sunday morning.

On the last evening the Dorchester visitors were the guests of the Lubbecke Mayor and Town Council for a traditional sausage and beer evening in a nearby Gasthaus.

Other activities included a special guided walk on the Torfmoor led by and environmental biologist and a day in Minden with a tour of the historical town, ending with a trip to the new visitor’s centre at the Kaiser Wilhelm II monument.

There are plans for a group from Lubbecke to visit Dorchester again in 2020 and in April 2019 the Dorchester Choral Society will be hosting a visit from the St Andreas Kirche Kantorei.

Several organisations in Dorchester have long standing exchanges – the United Church, Durnovaria Silver Band, Dorchester Choral Society and there have also been exchanges with sports groups including youth football and Natterjacks swimming club in the past.