BOLLARDS in Romsey Town Centre have been decorated in aid of a storytelling festival.

The annual 'yarn bombing' event is taking place in Romsey, where bollards around the centre have been dressed in children's book characters, including Alice in Wonderland, Mr Men and The Hungry Caterpillar.

Yarn bombing is a type of graffiti or street art that employs colourful displays of knitted or crocheted yarn or fibre rather than paint or chalk.

Trish Foreman, a helper of the event, said: "They are bright and cheer the town, you can feel a lifting of people’s spirits as they go up - children particularly love them, they are often seen giving one of the bollards a hug."

The idea came as a community art project, which was part of the 2017 Art Festival. It proved very popular so they decided to bring is back in Easter 2018 with the theme 'Spring into Romsey'.

Trish, from Romsey, added: "It is a real community effort, with many groups and creative individuals making a cover, and sometimes more than one.

This year's bombing is in aid of Romsey's The Storytelling Festival 2019.