Ticknall residents turn historic water pumps into topper trail

A selection of historic water pumps have been turned into an arts trail by residents in a Derbyshire village.

Fourteen pumps or taps have taken on knitted and crocheted animals, fishes and birds, created by members of the Ticknall Women's Institute.

The group designed and made the toppers as part of a national Women's Institute campaign to highlight water pollution in UK rivers, canals and reservoirs.

The Ticknall Taps Topper Trail is running until Friday.

Christina Oppenheimer, president of the Ticknall group, told BBC Radio Derby: "The toppers represent the importance of water to us.

"The core of our annual resolution is about people actually using the rivers - paddleboarding, swimming, sailing, canoeing - and being able to do that without getting ill."

The Clean Rivers for People and Wildlife campaign comes amid public anger at the amount of sewage being discharged into rivers and seas.

Maria Picken, from the group, said the Grade II listed taps played a significant part in the village's history, as they were originally installed in approximately 1914, and provided clean drinking water for the village.

There are also three scarecrows among the knitted and crocheted toppers.

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