Dreamed up as a way of promoting the annual village fair, the Wray scarecrow festival has become a major visitor attraction and money-spinner in its own right.

Every two weeks in the run-up to the May Bank Holiday Monday, the small Lune valley village attracts thousands of people - often by the coach load - who come to see the characters which take up temporary residence in gardens, along the road side, outside homes and gardens, and even occasionally in the river.

Although last year's festival had to be cancelled due to foot-and-mouth, the year before an estimated 25,000 visitors flocked to the village over the fortnight, bringing in thousands of pounds of revenue for the institute, school, church and businesses.

The event has also attracted national attention, with Blue Peter and Channel 4 both filming the festival, and two years ago the Tate Britain art gallery selected a scarecrow made in the image of Jimmy Saville to form part of a folk art exhibition.

David Hartnup, who initially suggested the festival would be a good way of advertising the Wray village fair after spotting a similar event in France, said he had no idea it would prove as successful as it had.

The first scarecrows appeared in 1993, with villagers immediately getting behind the concept.

"It went off with a bang right from the start," said Mr Hartnup.

"We had 180 or so scarecrows the first year."

Imitations of David Beckham, Laurel and Hardy, and Charlie Dimmock have all been spotted in Wray over the years, as have politicians, pop stars and cartoon characters.

In 1995, inspired by the VE commemorations, many of the scarecrows were in the guise of wartime figures ranging from land army girls and home guards to evacuees and GIs, with a special appearance by Winston Churchill.

Villagers are currently putting the finishing touches to straw-men models for this year' s festival starting next Saturday, April 27.

Scarecrows depicting The Queen's Golden Jubilee, Commonwealth Games and World Cup are expected to crop up this year, as are characters from the Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings films.

Stunning 14ft scarecrows will also be wandering the streets meeting and greeting visitors in the fortnight running up to the Wray Fair on Monday, May 6.

A tug-of-war contest, live music, car boot sale, fairground rides, art exhibition, crafts, stalls and birds of prey are just some of the attractions of the traditional fair which starts at 11am.

Also now an established part of the festivities is the Wray Scarecrow 10k road race, held on the quiet country roads around Wray.

The race, on Saturday, April 27, is open to runners and teams of all abilities, and regularly attracts competitors from far and wide.

For the more serious athletes the course records to beat are 31.52 for male and 36.12 for females.

To enter, send an SAE to Matthew Emptage, Wray Cottage, Main Street, Wray, Lancaster LA2 8QF, or contact him on 015242-21724 between 7pm and 9pm.