A spontaneous snaking trail of nearly 600 brightly painted rocks has captured the hearts of the local community who now want to see it set in stone permanently.

The Cuxton summer rock snake first appeared in Tar Tank Lane on June 20 and has grown day-by-day.

It forms part of a national craze which has seen communities come together during lockdown to paint and decorate rocks.

Started by Cuxton mum Kerry Thompson alongside fellow residents, Sharon Ive and Vicki Denny, the rock snake has extended to nearly 600 stones in just a couple of weeks.

The 45-year-old said: "It has taken off really quickly. It's so lovely to hear all the positive comments from passers by.

"At last count we have over 580 rocks, and the snake measures over 115ft in length."

Brightly decorated rocks have been placed along the trail depicting everything from hedgehogs to teenage mutant ninja turtles.

But Kerry, who is part of the village rock hide and find group, insisted she and the other administrators couldn't take all the credit for the idea.

"We have huge artistic talent in our community," she added.

"We have a local artist who did Snow White and the seven dwarves but unfortunately one of them has gone missing."

As a result the group is asking that people refrain from touching or moving the rocks.

The mum went on to add the community had actually been slow to start the snake art while they first sought approval.

"We were a little bit late to the party because we wanted to check with the parish council first," she said.

But now they have been given the green light residents are keen to keep the project running all summer long.

In fact, it's proven such a hit with the local community there are now calls for it to be moved to an alleyway where it can be preserved in concrete.

Kerry added: "We know the people who live next door to the alley and we've got them on board."

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