A HAMPSHIRE village is in shock after one of its timeless traditions was desecrated by vandals.

The Droxford Scarecrow Festival returned this year with its charming displays depicting a variety of scenes and characters.

However, one villager reported in a Facebook post that a number of the scarecrows positioned around the village had been vandalised.

READ MORE: Scarecrow stolen from Hampshire village festival display in Droxford inspires creative crime scene

Writing in the Bishop's Waltham chat room, Debra Foster commented: "The vandals are taking a lot of pleasure away from our visitors (young and old) who love our scarecrow festival, as shown by the many generous donations already made on our Just Giving page. We are doing what we can to restore the damage but one thing which won't be damaged is our determination to continue making visitors smile and have a fun day."

This is not the only unsavoury incident to befall the event.

In 2022, Droxford Scarecrow Festival returned this month for its third instalment following its success in 2019 with nearly 100 scarecrows dotted around the village for the two-week display.

But on the night of Sunday, September 18 one scarecrow went missing and hasn’t been seen since. Following the incident, a number of scarecrows have also been brutally beheaded, including the head of one resident’s 'Jim Carrey- The Mask' scarecrow.

So far it is unknown who the perpetrators of this latest incident are, but residents are appealing to the public to come forward "if you see any evidence and you know who was involved, such as straw on clothes on any stolen 'trophies' [...]".