The town of Chigwell may not yet be up there with Paris or the Mediterranean as a tourist destination, but one tour company is convinced they can cash in on its attractions.

Chigwell Tours and Visits launched last year and is currently gearing up for the summer season.

Offering a historical tour, a scenic tour and, of course, a celebrity sight-seeing trip, the Romford Road company is proving to the world that there is more to a town that is still known nationwide as the location for 1980s comedy series, Birds of a Feather.

Company owner, Salome Ahenkora, said: “We have had interest from Japanese people, and the Americans and Canadians love the rural area, the little churches and the forest.”

“Chigwell is unique. It is enriched in history it is the first village outside of London and only 11 miles from Charing Cross.

“We believe that there is so much to offer here for tourists from the UK and overseas, even for local people.”

Tourism is already worth nearly £100 million a year to the district’s economy, and is firmly on the agenda of Epping Forest District Council which threw its weight behind the launch of a new website, www.visiteppingforest.com earlier this year.

Mrs Ankehoma is not alone in running tours in the district, and faces competition from the Brit Movie TOWIE tour, capitalising on the success of the hit ITV2 reality show.

But she said: “Celebrity tours feature more than just TOWIE, and we want to be more broad than that. “This is the home of Alan Sugar and Rod Stewart, business owners and lots of sports personalities, and we will show people the area which they live in.”

Intimate tour groups of 15 to 20 guests will be chauffeured around the district from later this month, taking in haunted pubs, film locations and well known beauty spots.

The company also offers bespoke activities including golf, sailing and afternoon tea following the tour for people who would like to stay all day.