Scarecrows were busy getting to work over the weekend, lining Lamplugh’s streets to entertain the village – and scare away birds while doing so.

The two “splendid” days saw the community have endless fun, with people of all ages creating their own crow-scaring friends, and raising money for a new village hall in the process.

Entertainment, maps, cake and drinks were all on offer to visitors of the Lamplugh Scarecrow Festival on July 13 and 14, and even a ukelele band spent Sunday raising the spirits of the community even higher with the lighthearted music.

But the main attraction of the weekend was of course the four-mile-stretch of scarecrows taking over the village, with characters ranging from farmers and shepherds to unicorns and Gandalf.

Children of Lamplugh School also put their creativity to use, producing a Noah’s Ark replica, complete with plenty of animal-scarecrows to keep the boat safe from being pecked.

Lamplugh Women’s Institute provided visitors with drinks, cakes, and vases of wildflowers at the village hall, and made £600 in their efforts to keep the whole of Lamplugh fed and watered over the weekend, with all money going into the fundraising pot for the new village hall. The ladies’ hard work added a huge amount to the fund, with the estimated total raised by the event coming to over £1,000.

Five-year-old Serena Malone put on a magical display, creating her own unicorn out of plastic containers and a cardboard box.

“She loves anything to do with unicorns!” proud mum Harriet Malone explained. “She called her creation ‘Rainbow the Recycled Unicorn’, and all her friends put their handprints on the side, which was lovely.”

Judith Wildwood, Lamplugh Village Hall Committee member, was overjoyed with the success of the Scarecrow Festival, and said: “The word splendid comes to mind! The wit and variety of all the entries was amazing.”

She continued, commenting on the stand-out creations: “The beautiful Noah’s Ark made by the Lamplugh School pupils was just absolutely charming, and Serena Malone’s unicorn with its decorated tree was pretty as a picture.

“It was so heartwarming to see people being gutsy, rolling their sleeves up and getting stuck in!”

The Village Hall Committee are now hoping to raise further funds for the new hall by making a calendar of the festival featuring the 12 best entries from the weekend, raising much-needed funds while giving the community a perfect reminder of the fun-filled event.