A VILLAGE was taken over by scarecrows on the weekend in an event aimed at boosting community spirit.

Hartlebury Parish Council organised its first-ever Scarecrow Weekend on Saturday, August 3 and Sunday, August 4.

Visitors were invited to follow a trail of scarecrows through the village and vote for their favourite ones.

The parish council hailed the event a huge success.

Following the event, the council said on its website: "What a fantastic display of Scarecrows.

"The Hartlebury Parish residents certainly caught the spirit of the very first Parish Scarecrow competition and produced some very imaginative and creative designs.

"Twenty-nine entrants in total and, with the weather being kind, it made a lovely summer walkabout to view them all. 

"The weekend was well supported with lots of folks walking around spotting the scarecrows and then coming to the Parish Hall on Sunday to vote for their favourite ones". 

The winner was entry 28, the Maundy the Mechanic, at Ashdene Close. The runner-up was entry 24, the Ski-crow on Waresley Road and the third prize went to entry 13, Farmer and His Sheep, which was displayed at the allotment site.

Speaking about the event, Chris Neale, vice chairperson of the parish council, said: "We have been trying to generate and create some kind of community spirit.

"There's been many ideas, one of which was the Scarecrow Weekend.

"This was our first foray into organising a scarecrow event and it was a huge success.

"We had quite a lot of interest, a lot of people walking around the village, plus the weather was lovely.

"There were a lot of creative ideas and enthusiasm for it.

"Hopefully it's the start of things to come and an annual event that can be bigger and better each year".