IF YOU go down to the woods today, you’re in for a big surprise.

Dotted throughout woods in Gifford are 10 hand-drawn pictures of bears.

The idea came from Maureen McKenna and her son Andrew after youngsters at the village’s primary school had been reading We’re Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen.

Maureen said a post on social media asking for people to put pictures of bears in their windows had captured their imagination.

She said: “My son is 20 and when he was the age of the schoolchildren, he was really into that book.

“It is a lovely idea and I wondered if it would be nice to do a bear painted in the woods. I said to Andrew about it and he drew some bears.

“We had a lot of MDF left over that had come with some furniture that was delivered and we recycled that and painted the bears.”

Andrew, who attended Yester Primary School, and his mum then placed the bears in Speedy Woods, near Station Road.

Ten bears – including Paddington Bear, Baloo, Yogi Bear, Boo Boo, Fozzie Bear and Winnie the Pooh – have now found a new home in the woods until the end of the month.

Maureen, who lives in the village, was pleased to say the bears had been welcomed by youngsters at the school.

Zoe Munro, Yester Primary School P1 teacher, was delighted with the creativity shown in creating the bears.

Youngsters who have just started P1 at the school have been busy reading the popular book to ensure that, no matter what nursery the child went to, they are all familiar with the story and will have shared experiences.

The teacher said: “We shared some bear hunt activities with our new P1s linked to We’re Going on a Bear Hunt as part of our transition programme.

“While we were unable to invite the children in to visit the school, we thought that involving them in the community of the school would be an alternative.

“The Co-op and local residents put bears in their windows for the children to spot.

“We were lucky to have an amazing family (and former Yester pupil!) make bears and hide them in the woods for the children to find.

“We’re very grateful to Andrew and his family for creating a brilliant bear hunt.”