People living in a small village outside of Ipswich have celebrated the unveiling of their first-ever sign.
The unveiling of the sign for Little Blakenham, not far from the larger Great Blakenham, drew more than 60 residents who celebrated the occasion together.
Michele Kenningale, a retired nurse and amateur historian, chose the elements of the design for the sign and said this event was special because she felt it “put the village on the map”.
Ms Kenningale said: “This is the first-ever sign and in a way, it has put the village on the map and the most special thing was the number of residents that actually turned up to see it.
“We had a little buffet after the unveiling and everyone contributed so it was a real community event which was nice.
“There were 67 people there and there are only around 120 properties in the village.”
She explained the sign acts as a snapshot of the village’s identity.
The horses at the top represent the agricultural history of the area and in the centre is the village Grade I-listed Church of St Mary the Virgin - there has been a church on the present site since the 12th century.
At the bottom is a copy of the Ipswich Journal, the 18th century antecedent to the East Anglian Daily Times.
The bats are a reference to an old lime kiln inside an excavated chalk pit in the village which houses the largest hibernating underground bat roost in Great Britain with approximately 450 bats.
And many snowdrops, shown at the bottom of the sign, bloom each year in Blakenham Woodland Garden.
Ms Kenningale thanked the Village Sign Society for their attendance to unveil the sign in an historic moment for the community.
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