Social distancing guidelines mean this year's Halloween will be different for many, but this isn't stopping Macclesfield residents adapting to ensure their kids have a frightfully good time.

Instead of the traditional trick or treating children are used to seeing, two mums from the Weston estate have organised a pumpkin trail that has inspired dozens more across the town.

Wendy Bracegirdle told Macclesfield Nub News: "I posted in the Weston estate Facebook group to ask if anyone would like to join in a trail, which would entail anyone wanting to take part in it would carve a pumpkin, put a candle in it and then put it out to the edge of their gardens so the little ones can see them. The more people that take part, the better."

"What I said was if everybody who walks the trail takes their own sweets. The child still dresses up to go out, and for every pumpkin they find, the parent or carer puts a treat in their bag."

Wendy says this way children and parents can still enjoy Halloween safely and within the Coronavirus guidelines.

The idea has blown up from one intended for Weston estate residents to neighbourhoods across Macclesfield organising their own trails.

Wendy and co-organiser, Steph Lomas, created the 'Macclesfield Neighbourhood pumpkin trail 2020' Facebook page and attracted well over 1,000 members in less than a month.

Alongside the pumpkin trail, competitions will run to find the best Halloween costume and the spookiest window decorations in the participating areas.

Local businesses have offered prizes for the competitions, including the Ivy Leaf pub with a bag of sweets and George's Chippy offering a £10 voucher.

Wendy said: "It's just gone really, really big and everyone's looking forward to it. It means the little ones are still going to be able to go out and enjoy it safely."

She added: "I know on my estate that Halloween is big. We all get dressed up and we would all go out trick or treating; houses and gardens get decorated with things like graveyards, they really go all out.

"It's been a real shame; we've had all this Covid and we've all been locked away, but we can still do this, we can still have fun and make it work."

The areas listed as hosting pumpkin trails are:

• Broken Cross

• Upton Priory

• The Weston Estate

• Hurdsfield

• Buxton Road

• Greenside

• Gawsworth

• Henbury

• Bollinbrook

• Moss

• Thornton

• Tytherington

• Town

For further details on the exact roads and streets taking part, join the Facebook group and click on the events page.