Scarecrow festival to celebrate Yorkshire people

BBC weather presenter Paul Hudson holds the honorary position of mayor of Wetwang

Straw versions of all things Yorkshire have been created as part of a village scarecrow festival.

Hundreds of people are expected to see an array of wacky creations at the four-day event in Wetwang, East Yorkshire, which begins on Thursday 29 May.

The festival has been running for two decades and organisers said up to £5,000 had been raised every year, with the proceeds funding community projects including the maintenance of the village hall.

Nigel Taylor, a member of the organising committee, said a depiction of BBC Look North's weather presenter Paul Hudson is among the creative straw creations on show.

The event is an "opportunity to showcase creativity", organisers say

He said: "The festival attracts between 2,000 and 3,000 visitors each year. We typically exhibit between 40 and 50 scarecrows throughout the village.

"This year's special category is famous Yorkshire people and places. Previous themes have included Going For Gold to celebrate the Olympics, movies and TV, wildlife, among others."

Mr Taylor said the event provided participants with "the opportunity to showcase their creativity" with prizes being awarded to first, second and third place winners, as well as a separate award for the "public vote" category.

The event runs until Sunday.

Listen to highlights from Hull and East Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.