THE group who have been campaigning for a Tom Weir statue to be built kicked off their latest publicity drive last week.

'Knit a bunnet for Tom' began in conjunction with National Knitting Week and its aim is to knit as many red bunnets as possible and sell them in the run up to Tom's centenary in 2014.

The red bunnet was Tom's trademark, and the hope is that the money raised will help to pay for the statue so it will be ready for the centenary.

The Tom Weir Memorial Group started on Facebook, in an effort to persuade Loch Lomond National Park authorities to erect a statue of the beloved broadcaster.

Tom won the hearts of Scottish people everywhere with his show 'Weir's Way' and is credited with being an early champion of conservation of the natural landscape.

Susan Taylor, group administrator, said:" We've had a great response from our first fundraising event 'Knit A Bunnet For Tom' and not just in Scotland.

We've got knitters as far afield as America knitting away for the campaign. Of course we'll be knitting for the next two years or so to keep up with demand at all our future events.

The thought of seeing a sea of red bobble bunnets in December 2014 around this statue is our motivation."