YOUNG bookworms have been given a literary feast after a villager covered a bridge with stories to take home.

The bridge in King's Lane, Harwell, has been turned into literary wonder with a selection of children's fiction and non-fiction books tied to it.

Janice Markey, the resident behind the imaginative initiative, said she just wanted to expand the 'excitement' of reading to the village's youngsters.

The governor at Harwell Primary School said: "I belong to an organisation called BookCrossing and one of the thing they do is swap books with one another and giving them away to the general public by leaving them in places like a park bench.

"One of my favourite places in the village is the bridge in King's Lane so I thought that would be the best spot.

"It is very important that children are interested in reading and learning because a lot of children read on the internet these days.

"I want to keep alive the excitement of having a book in your hand and turning the pages."

This is not the first time Miss Markey, who was awarded a British Empire Medal for services to the community in 2014, has given children a chance to broaden their imaginations.

For the past five years she has decorated different spots in the village with books and believes she has distributed more than 3,000 over the years.

She added: "The key with BookCrossing is to keep the books moving.

"I want to keep doing this for as long as possible."

The books, which are aimed at primary school pupils, range from fictional tales to popular non- fictional books including the Horrible Histories series and early science books on DNA and wild animals.

Miss Markey buys them from charity shops or collects donations from parents and seals them in a plastic wallet before tying them to the bridge.

Katy Martin lives in the village and is a teacher at Harwell Primary School.

She said: "It is a beautiful thing to have such a generous, inclusive and kind gift for our children.

"The books are given and shared with no wish of recompense, simply a wish to love and enjoy reading.

"The location has been moved around the village so that the magic is shared and kept fresh and alive.

"We are incredibly lucky to live in such a caring community and hope it long continues."

Jonathan Wood, who lives around the corner from the bridge, said his daughters Emma, five, and Catherine, eight, were enchanted by the bridge.

He said: "It is a lovely scheme.

"The girls get to change their books from time to time and get some fresh air and enthusiasm for reading."