AN IDEA that was originally found online has brought more than a dozen life-size nutcrackers to the streets of Evesham. 

Twenty Christmas Nutcrackers are currently being spread throughout shops in Evesham to help bring joy, cheer and shoppers to the streets during the festive period. 

The nutcrackers, which are more than 7ft tall and made from recycled materials, have been spread across shops in the town centre as well as in The Valley. 

An official trail has been made and will begin on Saturday (November 23).

People taking part in the trail can visit the different shops and collect the names of them all. 

A post announcing the 'uniquely Evesham' trail has been seen by more than 40,000 people, all of whom will be keeping an eye out for the nutcrackers. 

Phil Maclean, place board member and retail director at The Valley, said: "It's an initiative curated through the Evesham Placeboard to help support small and local businesses over the festive period. 

"Evesham is a relatively small town and so can't afford to spend tens of thousands on each nutcracker so we hatched a plan to make them ourselves. 

"Each nutcracker is crafted from repurposed giant parcel tubes, recycled art materials and buckets of glitter and tinsel.

"Each nutcracker is 7ft tall and will be placed inside shops where people can visit to collect their names.

"We put a post up on Thursday (November 14) night and by Friday morning it had been viewed more than 40,000 times which is fantastic and absolutely amazing.

"We've already had people turn up nice and early to get a map but we haven't even printed them yet and the trail doesn't start until Saturday."

Half the 7ft creations are focused around Christmas whereas the other half are themed around the town, such as asparagus and Evesham United. 

Caroline Tredwell, place project officer for Evesham, said: “The Nutcracker Trail is a testament to what we can achieve when we work together.

"It’s a wonderful way to celebrate our town’s rich cultural history and horticultural heritage.”

The Nutcracker Trail will run from November 23 to January 4 and maps will be available from participating shops and online.

The project has been jointly funded by The Valley Evesham and Evesham Placeboard using some of Wychavon's share of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.