Castleford street left in stitches over yarn

It's an amusing yarn that has certainly got residents in one closely knit street smiling.
The Castleford home which was subject to a "Yarn bombing" incident.The Castleford home which was subject to a "Yarn bombing" incident.
The Castleford home which was subject to a "Yarn bombing" incident.

Martin and Paula Rowling were stunned to discover a tree on their road was wearing its very own knitted “coat”.

Rumours quickly spread around Toll Bar Road, in Castleford, about how the mysterious woollen wonder appeared.

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The yarn bombing phenomenon is said to have started in Texas and has become something of a craze in the UK.

Paula’s sister-in-law, Glynn Fletcher, said the yarn bombing on Toll Bar Road has received a lot of attention.

“We’ve had people stopping and taking pictures,” she said. “The locals love it. A few know what it is, others just admire it as a work of art.

“It’s good to have something happy and amusing happen for a change.”

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And it would seem the trend of picking up knitting needles is fast spreading across West Yorkshire as Horsforth’s very own Walk with Art plan to showcase a yarn bombed caravan at their event this July.

Lara Rule, organiser for Walk with Art, describes the phenomenon as “polite graffiti” and says it’s a nice way for communities to do something together and learn new skills whilst making a bit of a statement.

In one their groups at the Broadfields Residential Home in Horsforth, they’ve observed intergenerational skill sharing as the older members teach the young how to knit and crochet.

Every year they plan to create a yarn bomb installation piece – this year it’s an entire caravan which they’re working away at to display at their exhibition during the first weekend of July.

Next year they want to cover the 212 commemorative war trees in Horsforth to mark the centenary of World War Two.