AUGUST will see the sleepy North Devon village of Woolsery become one of the strangest places in the world.

The Centre for Fortean Zoology is the world's only truly global resource centre for cryptozoology and allied disciplines.

Their aim is to coordinate and promote research into cryptozoology, mystery animals, out-of-place animals, zooform and zoomorphic phenomena, folkloric animal archetypes and rare, unusual and aberrant animal behaviour.

Each year since 2000 the group has held an annual convention; 'The Weird Weekend', and last year - for the first time - they held it in Woolsery.

The cream of the world's researchers into the strangest and most bizarre aspects of the natural world rubbed shoulders happily with the young and the old of the village.

A world expert in UFOs, an Australian bigfoot hunter, and the editor of a Tropical Fish magazine made themselves at home in the pub, and one of the world's leading experts on sea serpents was last seen giving village children piggy back rides around a garden.

This year's event will be held on August 17-19.

There are exhibitions and films, lectures and workshops, and most of all the whole weekend is great fun for all the family.

It is child friendly as well, and this year - for the first time - there will be a whole programme of events especially for children, including a return of the massively popular 'Mad Hatter's Tea Party'.