A north Suffolk town has been taken over by scarecrows as 70 businesses display their creations for this year's scarecrow festival.
The tradition, which is now in its fourth year in Halesworth, has attracted a range of entries from traditional garden scarecrows to scarecrows inspired by Sweeney Todd and Mrs Lovett, the Queen and the Big Bad Wolf.
Organiser Karen Prime, who has taken over the running of the week-long festival from Rita Doughty who started the tradition three years ago, said she was thrilled with the response of local businesses and the number of children who have already taken part in the scarecrow hunt.
Mrs Primer, who runs Edwards restaurant in the town, said: 'I decided to take the festival over and keep it going.
'It really does bring the community together and it creates a fantastic atmosphere.
'The idea is to attract more people into the town and it's something fun for the children to do too.'
The festival launched on Saturday and the scarecrow competition entries were judged by Mrs Doughty yesterday. A silver cup was presented to the winning scarecrow, created by Les Tennet of Libbymae's greengrocers and florists in The Thoroughfare.
Mr Tennet said he wanted to turn his scarecrow into a gardener and his creation, dressed in a tweed jacket and Hunter wellies, can be seen sat outside the shop complete with a cat made out of moss, a pumpkin full of flowers and his gardening tools.
Mr Tennet said: 'It is a brilliant surprise to win.
'It is the first time I have made one for the competition. It took a lot of effort but if I'm going to do something I like to do it properly. I'll have to start planning what I am going to do next year now.'
Second place went to Palmers butchers and joint third place went to Reshape and Edwards for their Sweeney Todd characters.
The festival closes on Saturday, and until then the scarecrows will remain on display and families can visit the town's library, book shop or Edwards restaurant to pick up a form for the scarecrow hunt.
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