Author Peter James reveals Ferring Scarecrow Festival 2023 winners after 'almost impossible task' of judging

His top three was announced last night, along with seven runner-ups, making his top ten for this year.

He said: "My team and I had the best fun going through them all and then such a hard time to even get a shortlist of ten. Please congratulate every entrant. So clever, so witty, just a joy to have some real levity, and all the more so at the moment.

"Please tell everyone that they all deserve an Honourable Mention. What a wonderful, wonderful effort! All my best and congratulations to the winners."

First prize went to Happy 30th Birthday Jurassic Park, second was A Man's Best Friend, which included a copy of Peter James' book Dead If You Don't, and third was On Yer Bike. The Honourable Mention winners were I Do Forage, Give Back To The Future, Man Down, Hide And Seek, Jack Ferrington, Little Miss Muffet and Our 'S' Entry.

Lynzie Crompton, one of the organisers, said: "We are honestly blown away with all the scarecrows this year, every scarecrow builder went above and beyond and each creation was amazing! Well done to EVERY scarecrow that was built, we thought they were all brilliant!

"Each year there are so many fantastic ideas and the scarecrow festival brings the whole community together and creates an such a wonderful buzz around the village and so many happy smiling faces. It really is a joy to be a part of it!"

She thanked The Orange Tree in Ferring, which sponsored the festival and provided trail maps for a donation to the chosen charity, Girlguiding in Ferring. There is still time to donate at www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/joanna-tuck