YARN bombers in Dawlish are back in action for carnival week.

The national craze for decorating streets and buildings, and particularly post boxes, with knitting spread to Dawlish at the beginning of the Covid lockdown.

Since then, the work of the Knitty Noras of Dawlish can been seen regularly around the town.

Crochet expert Val Hempstock explained she hoped it would be a way of cheering people up.

Soon joined by knitter Noreen Goodchild, the pair started raising money for Dawlish charity Assist Teignbridge and the first effort raised more than £200. Val explained: ‘I crochet and Noreen knits so it’s a good combination.

‘We sort out QR codes so people can make donations.

‘Assist Teignbridge have really helped us too, they put out a call for yarn to be donated so we have had plenty of material and it has never cost us a penny.

‘And one of their volunteers knitted literally thousands of squares.

‘Other people in a community have also helped out but it can get a bit overwhelming putting everything together.’

Val and Noreen’s main aims are to make creations for Easter, Carnival and Christmas and they help with the annual Poppy Wall made of knitted poppies which goes up every year to mark Remembrance Day.

But they have also come up with ideas for special events including the death of the Queen, King Charles’ Coronation and the 75th anniversary of the NHS.

They use acrylic wool which is durable and can withstand weather conditions.

As well as various decorations on railings and other structures, the pair are renowned for their post box toppers which adorn post boxes in The Strand, Marine Stores and Park Road.

Val has ironed out a few issues with The Strand post box which has double doors and can cause problems for postal workers when emptying the box.

She and Noreen have been working hard in preparation for carnival week including a post box topper to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the pram race and complete with knitted ducks to mark the duck race.

Any keen crafters who knit or crochet can join the Knitty Noras by messaging their Facebook group The Knitty Noras of Dawlish.