by David Jones

Tourism businesses in Sandwich are launching their new secret weapon on Saturday - the Sandwich sandwich.

They have joined forces to promote the town by unveiling their own premium range of sandwiches.

The Sandwich Guild, as the new initiative is called, is also launching a competition on the same day to find a new filling. The winner will receive a share of the profit generated from that sandwich.

Guild director Matthew Wolfman said: "The word Sandwich is commonly associated with the well known food.

"Over three billion sandwiches are sold in the UK every year generating some £6 billon.

"Many people around the UK and the world don't realise its origin is linked to this fantastic medieval town on the Kent coast."

The aim of the sandwiches is not only to promote and support the town - it's also about championing local ingredients.

The Sandwich Guild commissioned local artisan baker Paul Hollywood (from TV's the Great British Bake Off) to recreate and bake locally a special "Huffkin" bread unique to its sandwiches.

The Sandwich sandwich competition will be launched at the town's Farmers' Market at 10.30am on Saturday.

Matthew Collins, of the town's Bell Hotel, said: "We wanted to ensure that we celebrate the best of Kentish ingredients, something we have in abundance here in the Garden of England.

The Kentish Huffkin has a strong baking tradition in Kent and it seemed the perfect choice for us."

So far there are three sandwiches in the range - salted beef, cheese and chutney and pork and apple. It is hoped this will increase as more businesses get involved.

"We want to see our sandwiches for sale in cafes, restaurants, service stations, attractions, events and on transport across the UK and we hope that one of the major supermarkets will see this initiative as an opportunity to get involved in a great community project," said Dominic Parker of the Secret Gardens

For more information on the competition go to http://www.createyourperfectsandwich.com/