I visited Lancashire's Scarecrow village and came face-to-face with David Tenant and a Dalek

There’s something slightly creepy about driving through a small village that has been taken over by scarecrows.

As I pulled into the car park, I had already encountered numerous Daleks, David Tenant and a Xenomorph in scarecrow form.

But this is normal for Wray, a quaint little village near Lancaster, who are currently celebrating their annual Scarecrow Festival.

Wray Scarecrow Festival returned on Saturday, with the community paying homage to sci-fi characters with more than 50 installations.

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John Gordon, 72, one of the organisers, told the PA news agency: “There are quite a few E.T.s around – on the bike, of course.

“We’ve got a number of Daleks, characters from Star Wars, and there’s an amazing one from Planet Of The Apes.

“There’s a scene where there’s a huge, big black monolith and the ape standing in front of it with a bone in his hand… it must stand three metres tall.”

The committee is made up of locals of different ages, many of whom have full-time jobs.

The festival – which began in roughly 1992 – has an origin story as quirky as the scarecrows on offer each year.

One resident spotted what they thought was a man hanging from a tree as they were driving through a rural area in France.

Concerned, they went into the local village to see what was happening and noticed there was a scarecrow stuck on a bar outside the local pub.

As I wandered through the village, I understood why someone could mistake the scarecrows for real people at a passing glance.

I have to admit that I jumped as I turned a corner because of a scarecrow dressed up to look like David Tenant.

People come from across the UK to attend, with some years seeing thousands of people flock to the village.

The festival runs until May 6, culminating with a traditional May fair, with other entertainment on offer for attendees including a giant scarecrow parade on May 3.

The events are run by the Wray Institute, a registered charity, with money raised being used to provide free use of its premises to a range of voluntary organisations, such as the Scouts, as well as supporting other local causes like the community owned and run village store.