Television presenter Paul Martin has joined forces with artists Joanna May and Eleanor O’Brien to promote the sixth annual Keevil scarecrow festival, over the weekend of May 17 and 18.

Mr Martin, of BBC Two’s Flog It! antiques programme, lives in nearby Seend Cleeve and attended a photocall to promote the event, which is run to raise money for Keevil Primary School.

Charlotte Godfrey, one of the festival organisers, said: “We are very excited to have picked the theme of historical British figures.

“Our characters have been picked and we can’t wait to see how creative our scarecrow makers will be.

“We have the added excitement of having the involvement of two fabulous local artists – Joanna May and Eleanor O’Brien – who will both be making scarecrows for the trail.

“TV presenter Paul Martin has also agreed to open the trail for us on the Saturday.”

There will be a £100 prize for the first correct solution to the trail drawn and there will also be a children’s trail.

The trail is open from 10am to 4pm each day.