OLYMPICS fever has stretched beyond the humans in Didcot and reached the town’s scarecrow population.

A new scarecrow trail around the town has opened to the public and will run until this Sunday.

Scarecrows have been built by 43 residents and businesses around Didcot for the trail’s first ever year.

Organiser Christine Reardon said: “Every year we go to the trail in Hagbourne and last time my daughter, Naomi, asked why Didcot didn’t have one.

“I couldn’t come up with a good enough reason so I decided to organise one instead. It has gone really well so far, I’ve seen people walking round and the people giving out leaflets say lots of people have come in for it.

“This is our first year so I don’t think we could have asked for more.”

The trail’s theme was sport, so scarecrows on the trail include an impressive horse jumper, water polo players and Ms Reardon’s own scarecrow, a climber.

She said: “It was a real family effort, the children stuffed the scarecrow with straw and we fixed him to the outside of the house.”

“Though we were out during the day and kept getting calls saying someone was trying to break into our house.”

Also taking a prime spot on the route is a paralympic scarecrow, built by the Carpenter family in Meadow Way.

Mum Vicky said: “I trained as a nurse at Stoke Mandeville Hospital and worked with the paralympic basketball team for a while, so that is where the idea came from.

“It was a real family thing. The face is of my daughter which was made using play dough to make a cast.

“My husband James made the wheelchair from an old pram, we all helped paint and dress him and his trainers came from the girls’ grandfather.”

She added: “We think it’s brilliant, he may become a bit of a permanent feature.

“It’s nice to bring the community together and it is nice because a lot of parents don’t have a lot of time to do things with the kids so this gives them an excuse.”

To buy a scarecrow trail map visit the Cornerstone, No Two Things, the Treehouse or Didcot Civic Hall or visit didcotscarecrowtrail.co.uk. The trail is non-profit making, with any excess money going to a Didcot charity, which has yet to be decided.