Scarecrow which was mistaken for dead body among village show entries

There was a rather scary addition to this year's Hurst Horticultural Society Show.

Organised by the Hurst Horticultural and Cottage Garden Society, this year’s event at Hurst Village Hall in School Road was held on Saturday.

Aside from the numerous flower and vegetable categories, scarecrows provided a spooky extra.

The exhibits, which had to be made on a stake and no taller than 2.5 metres, were displayed outside.

Neil Maybury was one of the contenders taking part.

His scarecrow, Worzel, caused a stir in Earley in May.

Neil said: “Someone stole him and he went missing for about four days.

“When myself and my family went on holiday I got a call from my mother-in-law who told me he had been found.

“However the person who found him thought he was a dead body so the police serious crime unit was called.”

Neil said the addition of the scarecrow category added ‘something a bit different and quirky’ to the event.

Other new additions included a miniature tomato class and a YouTube video class.