PUPILS in Chepstow are among 500 from schools and youth clubs to have helped fashion the flags for this year’s Wye Valley River Festival.

The finished flags will feature in the fortnight-long event, which will be launched in Hereford on Friday and culminates at Chepstow Racecourse.

The flags will represent water, nature and the biodiversity of river life, especially invertebrates at the biennial festival.

Artists Becky Prior and Faye Joines worked with pupils at 11 different primary schools, including Thornwell, Llandogo and Trellech, to create 23 double-sided flags. They will be displayed at events held along the route.

They used a process called Cyanotype, which is an old fashioned printing technique that uses daylight to create images. During the workshops the natural foliage that the children collected was placed onto the fabric. The group then worked as a team to carry it outside, keeping it as flat as possible. By blocking the UV light, the leaves created a beautiful organic stencilled effect.

Last held in 2014, the Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty-organised event attracted 20,000 visitors along a 60-mile stretch of the River.

Held to celebrate nature, culture, landscape and life along the river in the Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the festival will uses actors, singers, musicians and dancers to bring music, choirs, shows and performances to spectators along the way.

The festival arrives in Monmouth on May 6 and culminates in Chepstow on May 15.

Visit www.wyevalleyaonb.org.uk or follow Twitter: @wyebeauty