A record-breaking scarecrow festival brought Fiddler on the Roof and South Pacific to Kington Langley at the weekend.

The musicals-themed trail was seen by 700 families and raised more than £10,000 for local charities. Last year’s event sold 600 programmes and raised £7,000.

The main donation this year will be to the Bath Cancer Unit Support Group, in memory of Elizabeth Coles, who founded the festival in 2001 and who died from cancer in March this year.

Helping Hands senior citizens’ club, Air Cadets and Dance2Learn, as well as the village school, church and playing fields will also benefit. It will also assist a Hardenhuish pupil living in the village who is going on a school trip to Peru next summer and volunteered for car park duties on both days of the festival.

The People’s Choice award, voted for by visitors, was Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by the Waite family from Church Lane and the Burke family from Chippenham.

Wizard of Oz came second and Little Shop of Horrors was third.

The junior prize went to the Langley Fitzurse pupils who created Lady and the Tramp – Alicia, six, and Ellie, Hannah and Millie, all eight.

Committee chairman Steve Howe said: “The weather was perfect, it was really hot. In fact it was the first time [in 14 years] we’ve seen the festival in two days of sunshine, we’ve never had to plan for that before. Everyone was in good spirits.

“I liked the White Christmas in Coffin Lane. They were going to put Father Christmas on the hedge, but they had builders in and they said, ‘You’ve got to do it properly’, so they made a proper fireplace for them out of the scraps they had.

“The Plymouth Brethren Christian Church in Plough Lane baked a mountain of cakes for our cake stall. We had a sell-out ceilidh on Saturday and it all started on Friday with the Malmesbury Wind Band church concert.”