So far there are 18 town entry statements in place, although some are yet to be fully completed.

Each hay bale tower is topped with a yellow bicycle and organisers have had a tremendous response to their request for old bikes, with about 60 donated to date.

The best adult bikes of these were chosen to adorn the straw bales and thanks to the support of Pink’s Mitre 10 who supplied paint at generous prices, the bikes were sprayed courtesy of Butch Bennett Crash Repairs. The stakes to support the bikes were made by Clare resident and model engineer enthusiast Don Springbett.

Each town in the valleys has sourced its own supply of bales and has organised the painting of the welcome messages, using stencils supplied by the Clare and Gilbert Valleys Council.

District farmers and Martindale Holdings responded to the call for hay bales, donating almost 200, while communities have cooperated in transporting paint and stencils to each location.