Dorchester is set for a bumper Bank Holiday weekend as more tourists than ever flock into the county town.

Staff at visitor attractions are bracing themselves for a record-breaking influx of people keen to see the sights.

Dorset County Museum in High West Street has already recorded some of its heaviest visitor levels in memory, as customers troop in to marvel at four exhibitions which end next month.

Thomas Hardy is proving a real draw, with an increased number of hits registered on the Thomas Hardy Society website, with daily numbers of visitors to the author's former home, Max Gate, topping 100 for the first time ever.

National Trust tenants at the historic house, Andrew and Marilyn Leah, were amazed to play host to so many Hardy fans in the space of one afternoon.

Marilyn said: "Normally we get 50 or 60 visitors a day but on Monday we had 101 for the three hours we were open - it is really exciting to have smashed our record.

"It was a very mixed bag of European tourists, locals and British holidaymakers who came along." Andrew said: "It was staggering, but I think it is because many more people are taking their holidays at home this year."

Caroline Morrish, the manager of Dorchester's Tourist Infor-mation Centre - which is run by West Dorset District Council - said: "So far this month we are busier than last August and on several days we have had more than 2,000 people through the doors, which is uncommon.

"We are also taking a lot of calls from people who are coming to Dorchester for the first time."

The director of The Dinosaur Museum and The Tutankhamun Exhibition, Michael Ridley, also reported soaring tourist numbers.

He said: "It's going well - we are bursting at this time of year because the children are off school and we are popular family attractions."

A spokesman at Kingston Maurward said visitor numbers to the animal park and formal gardens were up on last year's figures.

Dorset County Museum spokesman John Grantham said that shop income was running at almost double the level of 2001.

He added: "We have been besieged and on occasion have run out of the free audio guides we offer.

"Paying adults in July have risen from 2,534 in 2002 to 2,940 this year."

West Dorset District Council said many people were visiting the Old Crown Court and Cells, and tourism development manager Cheryl Stapleton said: "The fantastic weather has encouraged more people to explore what West Dorset has to offer."