A BROMBOROUGH poet is set to appear at a literary festival this weekend.

Sue Bordley will feature at Smithdown Litfest as part of the Quality of Mersey poetry project and will appear alongside Vera creator Anne Cleeves, local actor John McArdle and crime writer Ashley Dyer.

Mersey Soul, a poem from Sue will has also been published in an accompanying anthology and performed at venues such as Waterstones Liverpool, Liverpool Central Library and Wirral Festival of Firsts.

Sue told the Globe: "My poem was inspired by the first time I took my son for a ferry ride across the Mersey.

"He has autism, so I was worried about how he'd cope with the experience.

"Usually, if he is distressed, I can remove him from the situation, but what would I do on a ferry in the middle of the river?

"I needn't have worried, though.

"He absolutely loved the feeling of travelling through the water. My poem is a very positive one about how children like my son can find comfort in nature."

Since the anthology's publication, Sue has had a positive response from other parents of children with autism.

She added: "People have said they can identify with the feelings of the mother in the poem.

"Some have even said it's encouraged them to try things with their children that they wouldn't have considered before."

The Quality of Mersey poets will be performing at Smithdown Litfest 2019 on September 15.