A 7ft gingerbread man has been crowned winner of the 2013 Wilmslow Scarecrow competition, beating over 100 fabulous straw creations which took over the town in recent weeks.
Affectionately known as Ben, the winner was created by Sarah Lincoln, Associate Solicitor at Hilary Meredith Solicitors on Water Lane.
Helped by the creative team at Hilary Meredith Solicitors, Sarah took three days to make him and showed off her blanket stitching to complete his 'onesey' outfit.
Second place in the Best Business Scarecrow competition was Multi-York, Yorkshire Building Society came third and HSBC picked up fourth place.
Organiser of the event and member of the Wilmslow Dean Rotary Club, Geoff Shelmerdine said; "This has been a most exciting 4th year for the Wilmslow Scarecrow Festival and each year we see new and more creative exhibits on display across the town.
"As usual the standard was very high, making judging very difficult but having taken soundings around the town from shoppers and their offsprings, members of Wilmslow Dean Rotary Club and visitors to the Wilmslow Show we finally arrived at our final four.
"Scarecrows are now established as the kick-start to the summer in Wilmslow and all businesses can benefit from the hard work put in to increase footfall on their behalf by Wilmslow Dean Rotary Club and Wilmslow Business Group."
Geoff added "This year's entrants plus support from Wilmslow Town Council has helped Rotary to raise in excess of £2,000 after costs and these funds will be used to support our local charities and worthy causes.
"Already earmarked for support are The Oakenclough Children's Centre and Arthritis Research UK (Wilmslow & Macclesfield). Our thanks to all the businesses, organisations and public who made time to participate and get involved in the fun of it all, to Hoopers for the lone of their windows and internal displays and the local media for the terrific coverage of the event. See you all in 2014 to do it all over again."
The schools and other organisations scarecrow competition was won by A Shepherd and his Lamb created by Wilmslow Methodist Pre-school. The pair stood outside the church every day for the duration of the Scarecrow Festival, sometimes being blown over or dishevelled by the rain.
Alderley Edge Community Primary School took second place, Gorsey Bank Primary School came third and fourth place went to Clairmont Kids Unlimited Nursery.
See a selection of the winners above or click here to see our photo gallery of all the creations we spotted during the 2013 Wilmslow Scarecrow Festival.
