TWO naughty monkeys have been providing a lot of entertainment for people walking past a house in a village near Newtown.

For more than five weeks Gaynor Lewis of Kerry has been placing two puppet monkeys in her front garden, and has so far come up with 38 different funny scenarios for local people to spot to provide a bit of fun during the lockdown.

She said: “People have been coming around making a detour to our garden.

“I’ve had loads of ideas from other people. The other night I was up until 11pm sewing something.

“It’s been fun. The community love it.”

It has become one of the more uplifting things to have come out of the coronavirus crisis, in the same vein as rainbows in windows and clapping for carers.

The monkeys have marked important occasions such as the 75th anniversary of VE Day and Captain Tom’s 100th birthday.

They have even been caught digging a hole which caused a water leak in Gaynor’s front garden and abseiling from a first floor window.

Kerry residents have praised Gaynor’s daily creativity as a “laugh and joy” that have become a highlight for many people on their daily government-approved walks during the lockdown.

Eleri Parry said: “Loved seeing them over the last few weeks. Always makes me smile when I walk past.”

The idea came to light when Gaynor wanted to make her mum smile while she was self-isolating in another village in Montgomeryshire.

She said: “It was after I saw an article on Facebook of a little village that started putting teddy bears in the windows.

“I thought I would put a monkey outside and now it’s taken over.

“So I’ve got to think of something fresh every day.”

She added: “But my mum, who lives in Mochdre, she’s been self-isolating with my dad, and I thought that it would cheer her up a bit so I sent some picture over to her. So, she started doing it as well.

“It is a bit of something fun”.

After more than month of entertaining the residents of Kerry the monkeys went off for a well-earned break – which Gaynor says was their honeymoon.