A team of 50 dedicated knitters, aged between nine and 90, have invested thousands of hours in creating unique displays for an upcoming arts festival.

Huntingdon library has been filled with the sound of needles clicking every week for the last year as the knitters have worked away at dozens of displays, characters, bunting, famous scenes from literature and other items.

Miles of wool has been used up to create the items, which are set to go on display around both Huntingdon and Godmanchester in April to celebrate the Bridge Arts Festival, which runs from April 6-7 across 16 venues.

Huntingdon Town Hall, All Saints’ Church, the Bridge Hotel, the Queen Elizabeth School, Comrades Club, and the Cromwell Museum, will be home to special knitted displays, while yarn-bombers will decorate the two towns in time for the start of the festival.

Shops across the two towns will also feature displays.

Liz Perrett, who is organising the knitting groups, said: “It has been amazing. There is so much talent out there and the enthusiasm we have had has been astonishing. You just don’t know there were all these skills out there until you do something like this.”

Mrs Perrett said most of the knitted items would go up at the start of April but some will appear overnight on April 6 to act as something of a surprise for the start of festivities.

Shakespeare at the George are preparing a special performance for the event, with Hunts Drama Club and Hunts Youth Theatre also set to take part.

Preparations for the event have been more than a year in making and have been led by joint directors David Brown and Mrs Perrett.

The free event is being organised by Huntingdon and Godmanchester Twinning Association, sponsored by the respective town councils, and the association’s twin towns in France, Italy, Hungary, and Germany will also be contributing.

Some 44 artists will be taking part, made up of 18 individual artists, 14 art groups, seven performance groups, and five workshops –all hailing from Huntingdonshire.

To find out more about what is planned, log on to www.HGTA.eu or search for Huntingdon and Godmanchester Twinning Association on Facebook.