School children have helped to create a new sign for their village.

The new sign, which stands on the corner of Market Street and Ashmanaugh Road in Tunstead, uses design ideas from local school children to depict recognisable aspects of the village.

The original sign was created in 1965 by Harry Carter who was an art and woodwork teacher at Hamond's Grammar School in the 1960s and whose craftsmanship helped create numerous village signs around East Anglia.

It was gifted to the village by the Tunstead branch of the Women's Institute to celebrate their 50th anniversary.

Susan Badger from Tunstead Parish Council, who helped with the project to create a new sign, said: 'Sadly over the years the sign has shown signs of decay so last year children at Tunstead Primary School were set the challenge of designing new village sign showing something associated with Tunstead.'

Using a selection of ideas from the children an overall design was created which was made into a new sign by a graphic designer and a metal worker.

The finished sign is divided into four sections, which show St Mary's Church, the primary school, a tractor ploughing a field and a token 1p from Tunstead Workhouse.

The Tunstead Barrel Man shown at the top of the original sign has also been kept and is placed at the top of the new sign. The figure plays on the old English word 'tun' – meaning a barrel and a pot-bellied man.