BARNTON’S gardeners, snappers and scarecrow fans and designers have been praised for their contribution to village life.

The praise comes from Lynn Gibbon, chairman of Barnton Community Group, which held its annual strawberry and cream tea for the winners of the Barnton in Bloom, Scarecrows and Get Snapping competitions.

The winners of this year’s Barnton in Bloom contest received vouchers for Marbury Hall Nursery.

The large gardens winners were Ruth Gallagher from Elmwood Road and Stephen Roberts from Blackcroft Avenue, and the medium gardens winners were Carol Shaw from Ashworth Close, Brenda Beech from Ashworth Crescent, Sue Walker from Mond Street and Elizabeth Partington from Blackcroft Avenue.

There were five winners in the small gardens category – Kei Hong from Runcorn Road, Mr Tyler from Runcorn Road, Derek Minton from Rosebank Walk, Jackie Petrowski from Broadway and Jeff Gray from Broadway.

“The scarecrows competition was based on Rio and the 2016 Olympics, creating fun for all the family, providing the whole village with an opportunity to follow the viewing trail,” said Lynn, who presented prizes for the competitions.

The winners were Jack and Maddie Blackhurst with their Olympic mascots, and second place went to the King family with their Olympic podium.

The Pidsley family identified the most scarecrows, and the Mad Youth Club received a prize for its outstanding contribution.

The winners received Marks and Spencer vouchers, and the youth club received sweets.

“The Get Snapping competition produced some wonderful pictures in three categories – ‘views and vistas’, ‘people’ and ‘buildings and structures’,” added Lynn.

“The winner of the ‘people’ category, and the people’s favourite and overall winner, was Pete Leicester for his consistent high quality.”

The other winners were Sue Walker with a view of Pickmere Lake, and Mib Byrom, with her photograph of Warrington’s town hall gates, and the winners received Marks and Spencer vouchers.

“I would like to thank Bernice Tackley for agreeing to judge the entries and for her thoughtful comments, Pastor Andy Webb for hosting the event and for the hard work of all group members, especially Janine Hampton for mounting and displaying the photographs,” said Lynn, a Cheshire West and Chester councillor for Marbury.