MARTLEY residents have been given a bird's-eye view of their village to celebrate the millennium.

Five Martley Women's Institute members have spent the past two years researching, sketching and painting an aerial map of the area after being inspired by a map-making day organised by the county WI and Worcestershire County Council.

Now the fruits of their labours has gone on display in the village hall and villagers have been buying copies to enjoy a lasting reminder of how Martley looked at the end of the 20th Century.

Local artist Margaret Lloyd-James was one of the five members who decided to get involved. She drew the map after months of painstaking research.

"We had an aerial map of Martley taken by an RAF reconnaissance aeroplane in 1964," she said.

"With my knowledge of the village I audited and extended it and re-drew it to a larger scale while bringing it up to date. I have lived here since 1971 so I have seen quite a lot of changes in the village."

The idea of a map came from the county WI after the county council suggested WI branches could contribute to the millennium by drawing up maps of their areas. Martley's project was funded mainly by the WI itself.

"Initially I drew it in pen and ink and used coloured pencils to give it texture," explained Ms Lloyd-James, who has always enjoyed map-making.

"Since I was a child I have loved drawing maps and as a student at art college I chose to draw a map of the area in Sussex in great detail."

She said this map was a "logical progression" from the WI's last major project when it produced a history of Martley which also involved a lot of research and was sent to the branch's linked WI in Zimbabwe.