NORTH TAWTON resident Jo MacDonald and her family have been yarn bombing the streets of the town — becoming an overnight internet sensation with support coming from as far away as Australia.

Yarn bombing is a form of street art that produces fun and colourful displays of knitted or crocheted yarn and is the latest craze to have swept across the town.

While most children are out chasing non-existent Pokémon, the youngsters of North Tawton are trying to catch a glimpse of the latest yarn bomb.

Local people have been sent into a frenzy over the unexpected yarn bombings this week, with over 1,100 people getting involved on social media. The support has even reached overseas, with people from as far as Australia, Hong Kong and Jersey liking and sharing posts regarding the woolly wonders.

The needle-ninja behind the operation is local woman and wool-enthusiast, Jo MacDonald. Jo, along with her children Ebonie, Georgia, Henry and Beth have taken the streets by storm with their variety of crochet creations, including sheep, toadstools, owls and many more.

Mrs MacDonald said: ‘Yarn bombing the town has been a dream of mine, and the support on social media has just been bonkers. I am overwhelmed.’

The support on social media has been vast, with users making comments about how lovely the art is and how fun it is for the children on their summer holidays.

Jo, who a teaches an after-school wool club at the local primary school, is yarn bombing the town in support of a local lady who wishes to set up a venture at the town’s old Woollen Mill.

To begin with, Jo and her family kept their yarn bombing antics a secret. She said: ‘Everyone suspected that it was me, but I never admitted it until we received one complaint.

‘My aim is to spread joy not trouble. I was going to hang up my needles and stop doing it if anybody complained, however the support from the local community has been so overwhelming and it seems like the majority of the local people really don’t want me to stop doing what I’m doing.’

Jo also said that the yarn bombings had helped to spread awareness about the Woollen Mill project – which hopes to convert the old mill into a community owned wool establishment.

She added: ‘As a child I lived on Mill Road and always played near the mill, then they turned it into a wool pick-up centre before eventually shutting it down completely and blocking it off.

‘This town has such a great wool heritage and it would be great if the mill could be reopened as a mill as well as a craft and textiles centre for all of the community.’