CELEBRATIONS commemorating Wellington's twin towns will take place this year.

2004 marks the 40th anniversary of the town being twinned with Lillebonne in France and 20 years since it was linked with Immenstadt, Germany.

Civic leaders from Wellington are likely to be invited over to France for celebrations during the weekend of May 29 and 30. Events on this side of the Channel are set for some time in 2005. In the meantime, Wellington Twinning Association is asking the town council to hold a civic event welcoming a group from Immenstadt on Sunday, June 6.

The delegation, including the town's Bergermeister, Gerd Bischoff, will be in Wellington from June 5 to 12 and a town function is also being planned for that week.

In a letter to the town council, twinning association honorary secretary Julie Morton said: "We will keep the council informed of developments and we look forward, together with the council, to supporting the links between the three towns for many years to come."