REVELLERS at the Hilmarton Scarecrow Festival soaked up the sun over the weekend as they took part in the village’s scarecrow trail.

Now in its fourth year, the festival drew crowds from all over to enjoy the craftsmanship from the villagers with over 60 scarecrows forming the trail around the village.

Natalie Doust, 40, of Compton Road, chairman of the festival committee, said: “I have been chairman since the beginning, it started off as an idea to do the trail with just three of us and has doubled every year. We did expect it to be busy weekend but it was amazing, this year we think we had up to 1,800 people attend.”

The committee also wanted to thank the Duke Hotel for the continuous support it has received, especially with the hosting of a hog roast over the weekend.

Noreen Ash, 30, of Poynder Place, committee member of the scarecrow festival, said: “The weekend went very well, we were lucky the weather was with us. Everyone said how impressive it was, every year the festival gets bigger. On Saturday we had about 500 people take part, we are unsure about exact numbers for the Sunday but there were a lot of people. The standard was really high for the scarecrows.”

The theme for this year’s festival was professions, with each scarecrow designed to represent a different profession.

Mrs Ash said: “Our chosen charity for the year was Hounds for Heroes, we have a lot of veterans and servicemen in the village and as that is a profession that was represented it fit quite well. The remainder of the money raised from the festival usually goes to the local schools and the church. The festival really brings everyone together.”