YARN-BOMBER !

2012 Olympics are on their way - and in Saltburn-by-the-Sea mysterious athletes are appearing along the pier. This picture shows a weightlifter in training.

A mystery knitter has produced a set of characters depicting athletes from many of the Olympic events. Each athlete is actually knitted to the pier rail. Nobody has found out who the mystery knitter is, as the characters appear overnight. Crowds are now visiting the pier to view the Olympic Parade.

The local press report - "the mystery Saltburn Yarnbomber has struck again - and how ! Last October, the Gazette reported that a knitter, or knitters, had tried to pull the wool over the eyes of hundreds of folk at a popular Teesside resort.
They'd tied scarves and knitted figures to various parts of the town centre - to lamp-posts, railings and buildings - and outside the library.
Now the latest 50 metre long Olympic-themed creation on Saltburn Pier has stitched up the title as one of the longest scarves in the North-East.
Scores of people have been doing a double-take at the "marathon" scarf as they walk along the historic pier.
Every few metres, people can see a different Olympic sport portrayed - from synchronised swimming to a cycling velodrome- all with their own little knitted athletes.

THEY seek 'em here, they seek 'em there... but Saltburn's yarnbombers are nowhere to be seen."

John Anderson, a railway engineer, formed the Saltburn by the Sea Pier Company in 1867 and the pier was completed in 1869. It was the first pier on the Cleveland Coast.

Anderson owned the Alexandra Hotel and wanted the pier so his guests could walk out to see - the sea. Originally a vertical timber hoist carried guests down to the pier, until an inclined tramway was constructed in 1884. It was the earliest example of a funicular railway in Great Britain.

To view the full newspaper article, please click here.