Wiltshire in Pictures: Flowers and Easter flames

Colourful blooms are now becoming visible across Wiltshire

There was a flurry of activity at Salisbury Cathedral this week and plenty of Easter Sunday events elsewhere in Wiltshire.

As the weather warms, photographers have also been out and about capturing the colourful scenes as early spring flowers bloom.

And a famous pair of birds welcomed new chicks, live on a web stream.

Saving from extinction: A six-and-a-half-centimetre snail believed to have been extinct until being re-discovered in Southern Vietnam in 2012 will soon be on show at Longleat. Only 300 giant magnolia snails are left in the world and the safari park now has eight of them.

Paschal candle: A bonfire was lit during the lighting of the candle ceremony outside Salisbury Cathedral for Easter Day. The Paschal candle is a sign of Jesus rising from the dead.

Changeable weather: No surprise for April, the weather has not been consistent. Weather Watcher Carolyn R sent in this picture from the Tidworth area of a misty, mysterious landscape.

Quacking good time: Rubber ducks sold out - more than 1,000 - for the ever-popular annual duck race at Bradford on Avon, which always attracts large crowds.

Easter surprise: the peregrine falcons that like to use Salisbury Cathedral's nest box have had their chicks hatch. The nest is watched every year with the cathedral providing live feeds on its website.

World interest: New Zealand's Prime Minister Christopher Luxon joined Prime Minister Keir Starmer on a visit to Wiltshire where Ukrainian forces were being trained by the UK and New Zealand military for Operation Interflex.

Practise run: Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service had an organised exercise at Salisbury Cathedral in case of fire. It included cherry picker style equipment to get high up the cathedral walls.

Heritage in smoke: the debris of a listed World War One-era aircraft hangar is being scooped up as the community wonders what will happen next at the Old Sarum airfield site after a blaze on 17 April. The fire service is still investigating.

Village project: Preparation is well unde rway for the Urchfont Scarecrow Festival near Devizes, including this magnificent one. It is the 25th festival and will be running on the 4, 5 and 6 of May.

Purple walls: it's the time of year for wisteria and a lot of old cottages in Wiltshire are covered in it, including this one snapped by a BBC reporter.