BELBROUGHTON villagers had something to crow about when thousands of people turned out for the annual Scarecrow Weekend.

The event held on Saturday September 26 and Sunday September 27 saw the picturesque north Worcestershire village once again littered with hundreds of weird and wonderful wurzels.

Highlights of the two-day event, which had a storybook theme this year, included a Wizard of Oz inspired display plus a straw-stuffed version of Black Beauty and a wurzel-style depiction of the Gulliver’s Travels book.

As well as the imaginative hand-crafted straw creations - other attractions included hot air balloon rides, Caribbean steel band, craft fair, miniature steam railway, farmers' market, Punch and Judy shows, bell ringing, church tower tours, flower display, organ recital, birds of prey, electric go-karts, clay pigeon shooting, Morris Men, puppeteers, magic show, Appalachian dancers, classic cars, face-painting and refreshments.

Nick Hodgetts (aka scarecrow Jethro - one half of the country comedy duo Jethro and Esme) said: "It was a very good weekend indeed.

“We thoroughly enjoyed it - the response was fabulous; we’d like to say a really big thankyou to everyone that came along.”

Organisers were this week still counting the cash collected over the weekend, but they expect to have again raised many thousands of pounds for charitable groups and good causes in the village including Belbroughton School, Holy Trinity Church, Belbroughton Recreation Centre, Belbroughton Cricket Club and Belbroughton Animal Sanctuary and Protection.