Greenwich guerilla knitters wage woolly war on unloved public spaces

The mystery spinners have knitted jackets for trees, hats for bollards and even an octopus caught in a net along the Thames Path.

Known as 'yarnstorming' or 'yarnbombing' the capital-wide phenomenon is about cheering up a public place with an anonymous colourful creation.

One possible contender for the guerilla graffiti is underground group Knit the City who claim to work their knitting needles from a secret wool-lined bunker.

A post on their website says: "Unleashing our squishy art on the world, makes us and others happy and brings something to life that wasn’t there before.

"Our street art does many things. It takes a woolly hold on forgotten public spaces and gives them soul.

"It treats the whole world as an art gallery. It encourages others to bring their own city to life in ways only they can imagine."

This week, a yarnbomb was dropped on a neglected stairwell overlooking the river near Lovell’s Wharf.

Rudolph Van Graan, who lives in Millenium Village, North Greenwich, also spied a string of street art pieces which brightened up his regular walk along the Thames Path six weeks ago.

The 38-year-old said: "I was pondering the meaning of life and suchlike when I suddenly realised that something was very different.

"They were on that part of the Thames pathway on the way to the academy - it becomes quite dodgy around there.

"I hadn’t seen it two days before - I thought who would go to all this effort? I just found more and more of these things.

"It definitely cheered me up. It isn’t a nice walk there - people not cleaning up - just finding those made it so much better."

Knit the City - one of whose workers is said to operate out of a Deptford art studio - boasts stitch-ups such as a woolly phone box in Parliament Square.

For more information and upcoming workshops and bootcamps visit knitthecity.com

Do you know who the sneaky stitchers in Greenwich are? Get in touch and send in any photos to strotter@london.newsquest.co.uk