TWO Suffolk towns are in the running to become the world's first ever Walt Disney twin town, it has emerged.

TWO Suffolk towns are in the running to become the world's first ever Walt Disney twin town, it has emerged.

Bury St Edmunds and Sudbury have been shortlisted to be twinned with Disney World in Florida and are competing against 23 other UK towns and cities for the title.

Earlier this year Disney asked people for reasons why their home town should be awarded the title and received thousands of poems, photos and videos.

Sudbury resident Will Shropshire, 26, decided to nominate his town after realising the place had a Disney connection.

He said: “Sudbury is mentioned in the 101 Dalmations story - some of the dogs have to cross the River Stour to find their puppies.

“There's a plaque of a Dalmation in town to celebrate this so I decided to take a photo of it and enter the competition.

“Not many towns can boast being mentioned in a Disney story. It's a unique claim to fame.

“This would put Sudbury on the map and give people something to celebrate. It would be a nice link -deep down most people are Disney fans.”

Mother-of-two Christine Jones, from Bury, decided to put her town forward after reading about the contest in a national newspaper.

Mrs Jones, 46, said: “Bury is a special place. I moved here from Devon and have never wanted to leave.

“I've written a poem in a Disney style celebrating all that's good about the town.

“Bury is a friendly, pretty place with bags of character and history. The town sells itself really.

“I've not thought about winning but it would be a great coup for Bury if it happened.”

The shortlist of entries will now go before a team of judges and the winning town will be selected on December 7.

Residents from the winning town can look forward to a special Disney-themed party in January to celebrate.