VISITORS to Avebury were treated to the unusual site on Sunday of a Pied Piper leading lots of mice around the village.

It was the Pebbles Pre-school's novel way of raising funds for equipment. Kate Turner from the pre-school said: "We have an on-going wish list of things we need."

About two dozen pre-school pupils aged between two and five took the roles of mice and were led around Avebury's stones by their own Pied Piper, Stephen Andre.

Bybrook Developments, a building company based in nearby Winterbourne Monkton, sponsored the event by providing themed T-shirts for the children to wear.

The children, who were accompanied by parents and helpers, had their faces painted like mice, rather than rats. One of the helpers said: "We felt they were much too nice to be called rats."