CHIILDREN are being encouraged to get creative and enter the Goostrey scarecrow competition.

There are more than £200 worth of prizes to be won, and entries can be submitted until May 24.

There will then be a week of public voting, which will close at midnight on May 31, and the winners will be announced on June 1.

Andrew Shanahan from the organisers said: “We’ve all been disappointed with the fun events that have had to be cancelled this year, perhaps most notably our annual Goostrey Rose Day festival.

“However, one of the keys to getting through this situation is to focus on what we can do.

“The village has run scarecrow competitions before, and it seems like the perfect time for it to make a return as we all search for things to do at home and things to enliven our walks around the village.”

To see entries visit lovegoostrey.com/scarecrows and facebook.com/lovegoostrey

There is one entry per household, and your scarecrow must be visible from the pavement until the end of the competition.

To enter you must live within a 2.5-mile radius of Goostrey Post Office. The main prize will be chosen by a public vote. Additional prizes will be offered by local businesses.

Take photos of your scarecrow and send them to lovegoostrey.com/scarecrows. You can submit up to three photos of your scarecrow.

It may be closed to all but a handful of children of keyworkers, but Goostrey Community Primary School is determined not to miss the village scarecrow contest.

A display of pupils at work and play appeared in the old schoolyard fronting Main Road to the delight of residents taking their lockdown walks. Staff have also erected a banner saying how much they miss the children.

The giant rainbow banner outside the school in praise of the NHS has been joined by mini rainbows drawn by pupils.