Dame Judi Dench and Sir Kenneth Branagh given Freedom of Stratford-upon-Avon

Dame Judi Dench and Sir Kenneth Branagh exercised their Freedom by herding sheep

Two icons of British film and theatre have been given the Freedom of Stratford-upon-Avon, the birthplace of William Shakespeare.

Dame Judi Dench and Sir Kenneth Branagh also unveiled a newly-restored statue of the Bard.

Donated to the town in 1769 by actor and playwright David Garrick, the figure had undergone a £45,000 restoration process.

Dame Judi said she had been left feeling "overwhelmed" by the honour.

The statue of Shakespeare was donated to the town by David Garrick in 1769

"We were in the room this morning when they said 256 years ago they gave this same honour to David Garrick who gave the town that statue," said Sir Kenneth.

"That did put the wind up us a bit."

"It's actually quite overwhelming," added Dame Judi.

The pair were given the honour for their contributions to Shakespeare, which meant they could exercise their freedom by herding sheep through the town.

"We've practiced the sheep wrangling," added Sir Kenneth, "not so good."

The pair were granted Freedom of the Town for their services to Shakespeare

A fundraising project to restore the statue, on Stratford-upon-Avon Town Hall, was organised by Dr Paul Edmondson of the the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.

"I came here when I was 17, I hitchhiked up the A34 and went around this town touching and looking at all the famous things associated with this most famous man, and this was one of them," added Sir Kenneth.

"He's been away for a while, but because of the fundraising efforts of the people of Stratford-upon-Avon... Shakespeare is back."

Dame Judi discovered a connection to Shakespeare during an appearance on the BBC's Who Do You Think You Are

Dame Judi has starred in many Shakespearean performances at the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) across a career spanning decades and won an Oscar for her role in Shakespeare in Love in 1998.

Sir Kenneth has acted and directed in a host of Shakespeare plays and film adaptations, receiving widespread acclaim across his career.

A number of events are planned as the town celebrates the writer's 458th birthday.