Scarecrow competition 'takes off'

By Duncak Kirkhope
BBC Scotland news

More than 80 scarecrows have been made this year

A scarecrow competition has taken off in a Stirlingshire village, with entries soaring again this year.

Six people took part in the gala day contest the first time it was run in Thornhill in 2004.

That number rose to 60 last year and climbed again this year, with 83 scarecrows appearing in the streets and surrounding countryside.

This year's winner was a likeness of country singer Dolly Parton on a horse in a paddock at Ballinton Farm.

Runner up was Piddler on the Roof - a dog with real water coming from its hind leg on the roof of a cottage in Thornhill's main street.

They thought it would work very well up here in rural Scotland and it has Bob Bawden Thornhill Gala Group Scarecrow contest in pictures

Other entrants included a Dr Who tardis and cyberman, abandoned babies, a medallion man and a Church of Scotland minister.

A huge spider took third place when the winners were announced on Saturday, with a giant friendly monster made of hay bales coming fourth.

Bob Bawden of the Thornhill Gala Group said: "I believe the idea came from somebody in Thornhill who had seen a scarecrow competition in England, where it is quite common in a number of villages.

"They thought it would work very well up here in rural Scotland and it has."

Mr Bawden said the organisers would be going all out to try to attract more than 100 entries next year.