GETTING lost in thick fog leading to an out-of-Africa experience has resulted in Wiveliscombe adopting a Scottish tradition.

Tartan is more akin to the Highlands than rural Somerset, but a Facebook poll by Kerry Molfesis and her daughter Loula to choose the colours for a Wivey tartan has proved surprisingly popular.

Kerry moved to the area in 1976 after her father got lost in fog in Devon and took a detour via Wiveliscombe, where he stayed in the White Hart.

Then based in Africa, he liked the town so much he moved there to raise his family.

Kerry and Loula also love the area and decided to use the empty NatWest bank building in the town centre as a shop selling local art and handcrafted products.

Artist Kerry said: "We wanted to re-purpose the old building but at the same time do something that would benefit the community and boost the local economy.

"Knowing how many talented artisans there are here, this seemed like it could work.”

Their eco-friendly Secret Island promotes an array of gifts and they are careful to re-cycle, re-use and re-purpose.

Kerry is a skilled weaver and produces many items on her antique loom and sock machine.

She rebuffed a top London designer's advances to produce socks on a large scale as it was against her ethics of 'local for the locals'.

The tartan idea came from a conversation with Loula in which she said: "Wivey is really like a clan.”

That led to her thinking about creating a tartan to represent the 'clan and the people of Wiveliscombe'.

Referring to the Facebook poll, Loula said: "We couldn’t believe the interest with nearly 1,000 people voting so we picked the top four colours – sky blue, bottle green, yellow and dark red.

"What was interesting was that people came up with reasons for their choice – blue to represent the much loved Wivey Swimming Pool; green the rolling hills around the town; yellow, the hops used by the two breweries based here; and red, the colour of the soil so characteristic of the area.”

The tartan will now be registered and Kerry is frantically trying to keep up with the demand.

She added: “It initially took about two weeks to set up the technical side and it probably takes about a week to make 40 feet of the tartan.

"We have already made key fobs, covered diaries, notebooks, scarves and shawls. We really see this as a long-term project and a tribute to the amazing community of Wiveliscombe”