IT'S shaping up to be a bumper bank holiday in West Dorset.

Tourism chiefs say everything points to a record-breaking weekend - although the weather holds the key.

If the sun shines thousands of visitors are expected at resorts like West Bay and Lyme Regis.

For some traders it will mean a welcome boost for a not so super season.

"So far it's been very disappointing," said Peter Bunyan of JB's fast food kiosk near The Mound at West Bay.

"Whether it's to do with the harbour defence work or a general downturn in the number of visitors coming to the south and south west, I don't know.

"There's probably half the number of caravans parked here as last year."

Mr Bunyan said his worry was people had been put off coming to West Bay by the on-going harbour defence works which had overrun by several months and left the resort looking like "a building site".

"It will be terrific when it's finished with a marvellous new West Pier and slipway and the East Pier looks great but people will only visit again if they know its done," he said.

He said the district council needed to ensure that they made people aware when the Bay was fully open again by extensive advertising.

Bridport LVA chairman Adrian Collis, landlord of the Three Horshoes at Burton Bradstock has enjoyed a "pretty good season". "It's on a par with last year and we've been full all the time," he said.

"I certainly can't complain but we don't have any meetings of the LVA in August so I've had no feedback from the other members. My gut feeling is the coastal ones are doing quite well and we are expecting a pretty good Bank Holiday weekend with indications of a big surge."

A spokesman at Bridport Tourist Information Centre said they had been busy over recent weeks. "It may be partly to do with people looking for things to do because of the weather but we have also had lots of demand for accommodation," she said.

"It's been a fairly healthy season and the prospects are good for the bank holiday with forecasts that the weather is picking up."

A spokesman for the district council's tourism department said: "The council's figures indicate that visitors numbers are up for the year while accommodation bookings made at the council's tourist information centres in Lyme Regis and Bridport have increased or are on a par with last year.

"The council is always keen to help towns or businesses promote themselves and also carries out extensive marketing.

"This includes sending out 120,000 copies of a West Dorset Holiday Guide, £36,000 of media advertising and the website www.westdorset.com