THE Dalek invasion of Dorset began with an arts event in Ferndown.

The extraterrestrial mutants descended on Heatherlands Community Centre during a week of art activities that drew in almost 1,000 local residents.

The theme of this year’s art week was ‘space’, which coincided with the announcement of the 12th Doctor Who.

The community worked together to create a life-sized model of Dalek Khan to celebrate.

Community leader John Hanrahan said he was delighted with the numbers of visitors, adding: “We had around 800 people through the door this week.”

Ferndown mums helped organise the popular event, and it is hoped that the giant Dalek will be used for fundraising in the future.

John said: “If you see the Dalek outside a supermarket you’re going to come over and have a look at it.

“If we can raise a smile, you can get people donating.”

Artist Darrell Wakelam worked with Ferndown residents to build the model, which took four days to build and is made entirely of cardboard, masking tape, tissue paper and paint.

Darrell said: “We used very detailed engineers’ drawings of Daleks, which I had got online.

“So we built everything to scale, which involved a fair bit of maths as well as the children's creative and imaginative skills.

“The whole thing was built in four sections so it meant we could all work on different pieces at the same time and everyone could join in, however small they were.

“I had great fun working on the project. It's the third year that I have worked at the Heatherlands Arts Week and it gets better every time.

“The organisers are always very helpful and supportive of all of the artists involved and I really hope the event continues to go from strength to strength.”

Heatherlands Art Week is organised by East Dorset District Council’s Arts and Culture Manager, Tracy Cooper, with partnership funding from the district council, Neighbourhood Panel Zone 8, PACT and Synergy