RED, white and blue will be very much in evidence this June as Ben Rhydding Community Fete marks both The Queen’s 90th birthday and its tenth anniversary.

The annual fete will be held on the Valley Drive field, off Wheatley Lane, from 2pm to 4pm on June 18, and entry is free.

This year the fete will also include the culmination of the first Ben Rhydding Scarecrow Festival, which will run from May 30 to June 18.

A scarecrow trail will be created round Ben Rhydding village, with riddles to solve along the way, which will spell a mystery word with prizes to be won every day.

Trail sheets, costing £1, will be on sale from the Wheatley Arms, and all proceeds will go to the Marie Curie hospice in Bradford.

All the scarecrows will be transported to the fete on the June 18, and will be on show in the Scarecrow Garden. Winners of the best scarecrow categories will be announced, and the fete will also include a children’s scarecrow fancy dress competition.

Fete committee chairman, Karen Palframan, said: "This year is the fete’s tenth anniversary, and the free community event has grown and grown."

The fete will also feature all the usual attractions, including stalls, games, croquet competitions, golf challenges, a raffle and bouncy castle, a full arena entertainment programme of singing and dancing, as well as tea and beer tents, a barbecue and plenty of ice cream.

Community groups, sports clubs, schools, churches and charities take part, and the fete is sponsored by businesses Audley Clevedon and The Wheatley Arms.

Karen added: "We’ve at last been able to settle on a fixed date for the fete, which is the third Saturday in June.

"We hope this will enable more people to lend a hand, as we are in need of more helpers on the day and also more committee members. The fete is organised by the community, for the community, and we’re looking for more people to help with the wide variety of tasks involved."

Anyone who would like to make a scarecrow for the trail, or would like further details about the scarecrow fancy dress competition, should contact scarecrow festival organiser, Claire Macina, via c.macina@leeds.ac.uk or call 07951 535881.

Visit benrhyddingfete.co.uk for more details about the fete.