THE long awaited results of the Dingestow Church Mice Challenge have finally been announced.

The competition, that called on people to get creative with knitted mice gathered a lot of interest when the results were revealed at the Easter Extravaganza held in St Dingat's Church on Holy Saturday.

The competition was the brainchild of Yasmin Hay who took a small knitted mouse, made by a local reverend on a skiing holiday to France and took a picture of it.

This formed the basis of the competition to see where they could get a picture of a Dingestow mouse taken.

Retired Reverend Gill Williams,63, and her sister Barbara Fry, 71, both of King's Fee, started selling hand-made 'Dingestow Church Mice' to raise money towards providing toilets at St Dingat's Church, Dingestow, near Monmouth.

So far the little rodents have raised £1,360, that will go towards the £20,000 needed to provide a toilet for parishioners and walkers at the church.

The overall winner was Matthew Suttie for his photo of his mouse sitting in the bell of his saxophone.

Alice Hudson-Margetts won a prize for her cheerful drawing of the mice.

The international winner was the Foley family from Alaska, whose picture shows a basketful of mice near the famous signpost, which shows how many miles various places are from Fairbanks, The Golden Heart City, Alaska.

Other prize winners included Rita Rouse, Tina Campbell Lucas, Catherine Mapp, Katie Mapp, Charlotte Ellis and Liam Keating. Lots of entries were awarded certificates, including Jordan Suttie.

Rev Williams said: "Well done to everyone and a big thank you to all who entered. Also special thanks to Eunice Lewis who kindly gave up her time to judge the competition."

The knitted mice come in a range of colours and sizes and take the sisters' two hours each to knit.

They are sold in two local shops and at events for 50p and £1, depending on size.