VILLAGERS in Nyewood were probably given quite a scare as 62 scarecrows started to appear in gardens, on verges, behind walls and even on telegraph poles.

The occasion was the inaugural Scarecrow Festival in the village south of Petersfield – and the effort put into the diverse entries was certainly not lost on the organisers.

Paul Martin, a member of the fundraising committee for Henry Warren Hall in Nyewood, which organised the event, said: “A lot of creativity had been employed in making, among others, a cricketer, a tennis player, a Wimbledon umpire, pirates, a mole-catcher, a builder, a tired out ‘material girl’, a ‘traffic cop’ (complete with speed camera), and even a railway worker that audibly advised anyone drawing close to ‘mind the gap’.”

The festival ended on the village green with a prizegiving ceremony.

The panel of judges, which included the village postman, had a hard job determining winners, but top spot went to Helen, Chris, Thomas and Zac New, who won the Chairman’s Cup for their entry ‘The Wheelbarrow Pair’.

Runners-up were Marie-Anne and Neil James with ‘Elephant Man’ and third were Mac, Rhonda and James McCarthy with their entry ‘Nyewood Underground’.

The prizes were handed out by Penny Curran and Tania Chaplin, who praised the quality of entries and said they hoped everyone had enjoyed putting Nyewood on the map by participating in what is one of a number of events aimed at keeping the community together while it awaits the rebuilding of the village hall.

According to the organisers, plans are now well under way for next year’s festival.