A traffic campaign in the village of Stoney Stanton in Leicestershire, England resulted in scaring pedestrians and motorists passing through the area. To warn against speeding on school streets, area authorities have placed children’s puppets on the sidewalks, but the sculptures actually scare anyone who walks by.
The dolls, painted in blue blouses and gray trousers, appear lost, sometimes even frightened. The combination prompted villagers to compare the sculptures to objects from horror films.
Adults and children pass by the place, always turning their faces to the dolls, which evoke different sensations in people, but all reflect the discomfort that the objects transmit.
The sculptures, which have been on a street in Stoney Stanton since July 2020, have just gone viral on social media. The dolls were conceived by the religious Roz Ward and named after Billie and Belinda.
For some residents, the presence of “painted children” becomes a much greater distraction to drivers than a warning that the site is a school campus.