Parishioners faced a puzzle as they put together 750,000 jigsaw pieces for charity.

And people from far and wide are travelling to Brighouse this weekend to see their efforts and buy a piece of the action.

St Martin’s Church is hosting a charity jigsaw festival this weekend and on its first day yesterday saw visitors from the east and west coast.

Click below for pictures from day one of the festival

 

The jigsaw festival is one of just three such events nationally.

Alan Sparks, one of the organisers, said it had captured people’s imaginations.

“We’ve had people putting the jigsaws together all winter and spring and there are more than 1,000 jigsaws on show all weekend,” he said. “There are 200 on display at any one time and as one is sold another replaces it so it’s an every-changing display.

“On the first day we had people from the west coast and Warrington come over. It appeals because it’s a speciality.

“It’s probably one of three in the UK worth visiting and has really taken off.”

Church members and the Calderdale and Kirklees community has backed the idea with people from all over both boroughs putting various jigsaws together ahead of the weekend event.

Some family groups have assembled 70 puzzles each to add to the festival.

It’s the third such event St Martin’s Church in Brighouse has hosted and has grown each year.

Puzzles on show and for sale range from children’s jigsaw puzzles to traditional country scenes, 3D puzzles, double-sided and even crossword puzzles. There’s even a few dubbed ‘impossipuzzles’ which are technically difficult.

Alan said proceeds support the church, but this year they were also support the charity Together for Looked After Children, a Calderdale cause that aims to improve the futures of children in care.

The charity jigsaw festival runs from 10am-5pm on Saturday and Monday and 12pm-5pm on Sunday and is open to all.