Straw is the draw for Marlow shops (From Bucks Free Press)

Straw is the draw for Marlow shops

12:03pm Tuesday 11th May 2010 in

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SCARECROWS will once again help traders on the yellow brick road to recovery this summer.

Straw based mannequins will be displayed in shop windows around Marlow as part of a summer shopping trail which was trialled last year for the first time.

Marlow Chamber of Trade have decided to run the event in July following its success.

Shoppers won prizes for correctly guessing the names of all the scarecrows based on clues.

The chamber has endeavoured to find innovative ways of upping trade during the economic downturn and last month also ran an April Fool's event.

It said this also proved popular with visitors to the town.

About 100 people took part – and came from as far as Windsor and Milton Keynes.

Chamber president Andy McCready said it had helped the town's economy.

He said: “The general reaction has been fantastic. Feedback from the retailers was that they saw an increase in trade and saw the benefit of the event as a whole.”

The chamber are discussing the possibility of a free parking day with council chiefs for the scarecrow event – to attract as much outside trade as possible.

Mr McCready said: “The April Fool event was such a simple thing, it got people to look in their windows and get retailers talking to each other.

“It's about bringing businesses together. It's getting them talking to each other as well. That's what the chamber is about and why it's in place.”

Claire Towers from Maidenhead, the mum of the April Fools trail winner, said: “It was really good and the kids loved it. We come from Maidenhead and they don't do anything like that there.”

She added the family would be doing the scarecrow trail.

The Towers-Goodman trio - Ellie, ten, Samuel, eight, and Noah, one – enjoyed the top prize of a large jar of sweets donated by Beehive Treats in Spittal Street.

Second were the Kebtane family from Windsor who won a £15 voucher from Mekong Boutique in Spittal Street.

Third prize – a gift from Mekong - went to Marlow youngster Sara Helin, nine.