IT’S the American craze which has taken over Chipping Norton – and many of the townsfolk still don’t know who’s behind it.

Knitted designs have been appearing across the town, brightening up even the dullest lamppost or railing.

But rather than consider it to be a nuisance, many in Chipping Norton have become proud of their local so-called “yarn bomber”.

Yarn bombing – also known as guerrilla knitting – is a street art which involves decorating a public space with patterns made from knitted or crocheted yarn.

The movement began in 2005 in Texas and has since spread around the USA and to London, where there is a yarn bombing community.

Chipping Norton-based artist Liz Teall said: “It’s wonderful. Every event is marked out with her decorations and we always look out for them. I don’t know who she is but it is lovely that she does this. One or two people do know but they are keeping tightlipped.”

For the past few years the yarn bomber has been marking significant dates or events within Chipping Norton’s life with appropriate yarn decorations.

This means Armistice Day is marked with woollen poppies littered around the town, festive designs are fixed to the railings around Christmas and bright orange pumpkins are attached to the lampposts at Halloween.

Not much is known about the town’s yarn bomber other than she is female and understood to be in her 60s.

One person who claims to know the identity of the yarn bomber is Claire Jarvis, who runs the town’s wool shop The Fibreworks, but she would not reveal any names.

She said: “I think it is great that she decorates the town in this fashion. We are really lucky to have her.

“The perception of knitting has changed a lot in recent years and it doesn’t have the same elderly image that people used to think it had.”

West Oxfordshire District Council spokesman Carys Davies said: “We understand the knitted yarns are popular and enjoyed by local people and visitors. We’ve had no requests to clear them up.”