Worm charming is coming to Whittington at the annual village fete on August bank holiday Monday.

This unusual activity will take place in the grounds of Whittington castle during the fete which is from midday until 5pm.

Ian Johnson, organiser of the event and chairman of Whittington Together said: “One of the team members on my committee went to an event not long ago where they held worm charming competitions. We were looking for ideas for the village fete to grab peoples attention and we just thought – What about worm charming?”

Ian explains how to go about charming some worms.

“To charm the worms making them come up to the surface, you need to mimic the vibrations of rain. People normally use a gardening fork by pushing it into the ground and then hitting the metal to cause vibrations.”

This event will be the finale of the day and there will be prizes for who can collect the most worms. Anyone is welcome to join in and you can even work in a team of two if you would prefer not to pick the worms up yourself.

For the rest of the day there will be music, food, drink and a selection of stalls from local businesses.

The traditional village fete will bring various activities for all of the family including arena games, competitions and sports from local clubs. There will also be small fairground rides and a bouncy castle for the little ones.

This the second fete at Whittington castle. Last year was the first time in 15 years the fete was moved back to the castle, as previously it was held at the back of the school. More than 2,000 people attended last year to support local organisations.