HUMPTY Dumpty, Goldilocks and The Hungry Caterpillar are just some of the colourful characters who took over Thirsk this summer as the famous Yarnbombers struck again.

Throughout the school holidays, Thirsk has been adorned with dozens of wonderful knitted and crocheted creations all designed to not only brighten up the town, but also to encourage youngsters to get into reading with the theme 'Fairy stories, books and nursery rhymes'.

The display ties in with a quiz trail that families can pick up from the Thirsk Tourist Information Office.

The jolly creations will be up until September 8 and there is good news for members of the public who may have taken a fancy to a particular display as for the first time many of them will go up for sale later this year.

Thirsk Yarnbombers chairwoman, Irene Marwood, said: "We have had a lot of nice feedback.

"I am in touch with the people at the Information Office in the town where people collect the quizzes from and they say they have a lot of people coming in saying they have come for a day out in Thirsk and are disappointed if there isn't a Yarnbombers display up.

"So now we put a notice up to let people know what we are doing next

"We do like to leave a gap between displays; we try and do one in spring, one in the summer and one for Remembrance.

"The next one will be Remembrance and we have quite a few interesting ideas for that."

Ms Marwood said that people often ask if they can buy the characters on display and for the first time they will be made available for donations at the annual craft fair at Thirsk Town Hall on November 10.

The public are also invited to a Yarnbombers coffee morning at the Methodist Church Hall in Sowerby on September 25 from 10am to noon.

The event will help raise funds for the Macmillan nurses – the Yarnbombers chosen charity for the year – and all are invited to take along their crocheting or knitting and meet like-minded people.