A RECENT exhibition at St Mary’s Church in Newent was perfect for people who like their religion to be more than a little bit woolly, thanks to the a the arrival of the "Knitted Bible” project.

The travelling exhibition features 230 human figures and over 80 animals, all knitted almost ten year ago by members of St. George’s United Reformed Church, Hartlepool, in County Durham.

In total, 33 stories from the Old and New Testament are depicted, from Noah to the Last Supper.

The unusual exhibition has been touring the nation since 2008, and the Newent church was earmarked for a stop. This was a great honour for Newent because the Knitted Bible was not shown anywhere else in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire or Worcestershire.

Newent town councillor, Colin Thomas said: "This exhibition is a very popular exhibition and is very much in demand. For example the next few months alone will see it going to Staffordshire, Gateshead, Yorkshire and Lancashire.

"For those who have not seen the exhibition or are not sure what it is, it is a series of scenes from the Bible brought to life by miniature knitted figures. The Knitted Bible only started out as a depiction of ‘The Last Supper’ but such was the enthusiasm generated that it blossomed into the scenes we see today."

Newent's mayor June Davies said “ I found the whole thing quite amazing and I was very impressed by the amount of work involved in creating the exhibition”.

The plan is for the Knitted Bible to continue its national tour for at least another year.