10,000 descend on Pattingham for scarecrow festival

Scarecrows invaded a Shropshire village, finding inventive ways to ingratiate their way into the life of the locals.

And they proved more popular than ever, with an estimated 10,000 people descending on Pattingham to take a look.

Pattingham's second Scarecrow Festival was today declared an overwhelming success by organisers, who praised villagers for the ingenuity of their entries.

Some scarecrows hung off the welcome signs into the village, some were mocked up as builders, Mr Men, Clint Eastwood and even Ronnie Barker made an appearance in St Chad's Church.

One had cheekily managed to claim a seat outside Lych Gate Coffee and appeared to be happily enjoying a drink with a local.

Another looked to be scaling ladders into an upstairs window.

One visitor to Pattingham's second Scarecrow Festival had got into the spirit by fixing a miniature scarecrow to his child's pushchair.

Dave Challinor, 71, who is a member of the Festival Steering Committee, said: "We wanted an event that made use of the whole community. Something that involved the school, the parish hall, the pub and local businesses. We chose not to have a competition simply for the reason that we wanted to unite the village not divide it.

"It is a quirky event and it's very British but then again Pattingham is a very British village and proud to be."

Beginning on Friday, Saturday saw the festival's busiest day as droves of people wandered the streets of the village following the trail to more than 100 scarecrows.

So big was the trek it was divided into a red route and a smaller, and more compact, purple route.

It had first been organised by members of St Chad's Church in 2011 but wasn't held last year.

However due to its success it was brought back this year to coincide with the weekend of the Harvest Festival.

The money raised from the event will go towards the church but also to the redevelopment of the children's play area in the village.

Mike Coope, 71, who is also part of the steering committee said: "I've seen some faces who were here two years ago and also people who have moved out of the village and have returned. A friend of mine had come up from Solihull which was nice.

"Another nice moment was seeing a 102-year-old woman insist her carer pushed her around the trail in her wheelchair."

Earlier this month thieves had swiped an 8ft by 2ft banner promoting the event. It had cost £50 and had mysteriously vanished from Pavilion Garden Centre on Bridgnorth Road.

But it appears that didn't affect the popularity of the festival.

Robert Colin-Stokes, 46,of Moor Lane, Pattingham said: "It has been fantastic carnival atmosphere and we've been lucky that the weather has held out. It's an important event for the whole of Pattingham and for people of all ages to get involved.

"It's good it's not every year or it could end up a much of a muchness and it allows the church plenty of time to organise other events. The last time it was done there was about 70 scarecrows and this time there are more than 100."

Roger Evans, 70, had erected an 18ft hare scarecrow on his farm, he said: "I know a bit about wildlife and I thought I'd create a hare. The last time I did a scarecrow for the festival was when I made a Bertie Bassett one. The festival has been wonderful and it has been so good to see the streets so full of people."

His wife, Gill Evans, 60 added: "It was my job to just tell my husband where things should go. A lot of hard work has gone into this festival and seeing so many families out and about shows it was all worth while."

Another who enjoyed the festival was Lindsey Eagle, 50, of Codsall. She was there with her great nephew, Daniel.

She said: "It was a really nice day and we'd definitely go back again. It was very well organised and Pattingham is a lovely village."