Hundreds visit West Sussex village to hunt for scarecrows as community celebrates creativity

Olympic figure-skater Robin Cousins is judging this year's Ferring Scarecrow Festival 2025, which launched on Saturday, October 25, and will run until Sunday, November 2.

Maps are available for £2 at The Orange Tree, which is sponsoring this year's festival, and money is being raised for Men in Sheds.

Several scarecrows celebrate Ferring Men in Sheds, including one marking up a grave 'RIP 700', referencing the loss of the bus service. This scarecrow was 'a tribute to the volunteers, businesses, employees and organisatins who are helping to make Ferring such a happy and great place to live'.

Elsewhere are wooden reindeer hard at work in their workshop, alongside an advert for the Men in Sheds reindeer on sale at The Loft Gallery.

Chloe Scary celebrates England footballer Chloe Kelly and a booklet showing how she was built is on display. We loved the pumpkin painted as a Women's Euro football!

The creators said: "Our scarecrow is one of this year's sporting favourites. She has been made from leftover building and garden materials. The main frame is chicken wire mesh covered with old newspapers and staked upright using a concrete reinforcement rod. Her head is a secondhand hair and make-up play toy.

"We watched the match and were so proud of her scoring the winning penalty in the Women's Euro final in Switzerland, which gave the Lionesses their second consecutive European title. We think the Spanish goalkeeper, Cata Coll, was scared of the Chloe Kelly 'hop'. We wanted to recreate the moment of victory."

One of the most gruesome scarecrows is the guillotine, which comes complete with a detailed history of the execution device. Did you know the last person to be guillotined was in 1977?

Organiser Lynzie Crompton said: "The festival has become a much-loved local tradition, bringing creativity and community spirit to Ferring each year. We’re especially excited that Olympic gold medallist Robin Cousins is serving as our judge this year.

"All proceeds from the event go to support Ferring Men in Sheds, a brilliant local group that promotes friendship, skill-sharing and wellbeing among men in the community."

Find all the scarecrows to collect letters and discover the secret words for a chance to win a prize.

Special offers are available in the village, like a free cup of hot chocolate per child all week at Kendricks for those doing the festival.

Ferring Men in Sheds is raising money to expand and build its own workshop, so the group can offer more people the opportunity to join. Visit www.gofundme.com/f/help-ferring-men-in-sheds-build-a-workshop to make a donation.