A MUSSELBURGH schoolgirl has hit a bullseye with the perfect addition to the town’s popular archer statue.

With help from the town’s Yarnbombers, Lucy Moodie, 10, a P7 pupil at Pinkie St Peter’s Primary School, has produced a target for the life-size bronze sculpture to aim at on the banks of the River Esk near the Roman Bridge.

Initially she was keen to fundraise for the project and wrote a letter to the local Tesco Extra supermarket which funded the original artwork.

She then heard from Jane Shepherd, the store’s local community champion, to say she had contacted the Yarnbombers who were delighted to get involved in the initiative, particularly after realising Lucy’s gran Margaret Menzies was one of their members.

Yarnbomber Yvonne Robertson volunteered to crochet the target using an old hula hoop and Lucy chose a tree for it to be attached. Angela Heidemann, who is also a Yarnbomber, and her husband Bernie helped fix the target to the tree.

Gaynor Allen, spokesperson for the Yarnbombers, said: “This was a lovely request from a young girl who clearly cares about her community. Lucy came to meet the Yarnbombers with her gran Margaret who has been coming along for years. We contacted the artists and the arts service in Musselburgh to make sure they were happy with the target going ahead and they were delighted.

“It was such a pleasure to help Lucy and she was keen to be involved in this. A special thanks go to Yvonne who made the target, Margaret, Lucy’s gran, who helped co-ordinate the project, and Angela and Bernie Heidemann who helped put the target in position. They are all Yarnbombing stalwarts.”

Lucy said: “I am absolutely delighted with the target and want to thank Yvonne for doing such a fantastic job.”

The archer, along with a giant stainless steel mussel shell at Murdoch Green, was funded by Tesco at a total cost of £76,000 as part of the council’s Percent for Art policy, which was a condition of planning consent for the company’s store.

The sculpture was designed by Svetlana Kondakova and Maja Quille, graduates of Edinburgh College of Art. Their work of art was inspired by the town’s history, including the Roman invasion in AD80, Battle of Pinkie Cleugh in 1547 and Musselburgh Silver Arrow, which dates back to 1603.

Svetlana said: “I think that the target is wonderful. Maja and I are flattered that the archer has inspired a new work of art and are humbled that Musselburgh residents continue to enhance the experience of our sculpture through their own additions to it.”

The Yarnbombers, who helped ‘Make Musselburgh Marvellous’ with their knitted and craft creations during the 2016 Riding of the Marches, continue to brighten up areas of the town using their artistic skills with wool and crafts.