A statue of Cardinal Thomas Wolsey took on a more colourful appearance after he was “yarn-bombed” by an Ipswich art group.

Shoppers in the town looked on as volunteers from the Secret Garden – a group of residents who love to knit in their spare time – dressed the cardinal in a fetching scarlet poncho and hat.

Inspired by the phenomenon of yarn bombing, a type of street art which uses colourful displays of knitted and crocheted yarn rather than paint or chalk, the Secret Garden also decorated the trees, benches and bollards which surround the statue, in St Peter’s Street, Ipswich.

Secret Garden member Felicia Blake, who is 41 and works in Ipswich Borough Council’s planning department, said she “has always loved knitting” and creates all kinds of novelty items in her spare time.

“We’re a group of keen knitters - with the help of Jenny Wren’s Yarns and following quite a few weeks of planning, we pulled it off,” said Ms Blake.

“It’s just a bit of fun, we think yarn bombing is great and we were excited to bring it to Ipswich. It makes street furniture - like bollards, look really fun, which I guess was our aim.”