Susannah Scott and her daughters Alice, 11, and Madelyn, six, have been leaving the stones on doorsteps around the town during the coronavirus pandemic.
“It’s a hobby I’ve had for a little while but I’d previously just given the stones to friends and family,” said Susannah, of Oliver Road.
“But after the schools closed it went up a notch and we must have made about 1,000 of them now.
“We started off on one street, High Fair, where there are quite a lot of elderly people.
“At first we were doing painted owls but then we moved on to bees which everyone seems to like. They are quite small so you can do quite a lot. We’re doing about 50 a day now.
“A couple of people have been dropping off stones that they’ve found along the river which has kept us going.”
The stones have proved a big hit on social media.
“Some people were putting them on Facebook and it’s been lovely to see the comments,” said Susannah. “We’ve also had quite a few letters of thanks in the post, including some from people we don’t know. It’s nice to hear the stones are being appreciated.”
Among the recipients was Shirley Mills who said: “Susannah left one in our doorstep a few days ago. My father, who lives with us, was so happy.
“She is doing an amazing job cheering people up. She is my hero in these worrying times.”
