Scarecrow trail declared an outstanding success as straw figures take over the countryside
Eat your heart out Worzel Gummidge - residents in a rural community in north Shropshire have created scarecrows that win top marks for artistry.
Organisers of the Whixall Scarecrow Trail asked local people to consider building a scarecrow to help raise funds for local charities.
They could not have foreseen the hard work and dedication that went into the building of scarecrows of every size, shape and theme.
There was Peter Rabbit stealing carrots from Mr McGregor's Garden, and Cruella de Vil with just a few of the 101 Dalmatians. There was not only Spider-Man but it seems the whole cast of the Avengers series and the Shropshire Star even featured with a reader sitting atop a hedge.
There were pirates and housewives, witches, anglers along the canal, not one but two Marilyn Monroe scarecrows and Joseph and his Technicolour Dreamcoat standing outside one of the local churches. And across the Shropshire/Welsh border that skirts the Whixall area there was a fiery Welsh dragon.
People could pick up a scarecrow trail map and tick off the ones they spotted then vote for their favourite in different categories.
And the event culminated in a scarecrow day and evening at the social centre with family fun games, a bouncy castle and even a fancy dress competition for 'real life scarecrows'.
One of the organisers, Dave Birch, said he hoped that the scarecrow trail will have raised £1,000 for local good causes and charities.
"It was a a fun competition and its main aim was to support community spirit and raise funds for worthwhile causes," he said.
St Mary's church and the Whixall chapel also served refreshments over certain days of the trail to boost their funds.
Many residents took to social media to thank Dave and the scarecrow team for putting on cthe ommunity minded event with both the trail and the scarecrow day.
Kerry Stockton Broster who created Mr McGregor said of the community party: "It was good to see the youngsters just being children and having fun yesterday and it was also lovely to be out - small things we all took for granted pre-Covid. It was a great community effort."
