SPRING has sprung and butterflies are arriving in Wiltshire from the unlikeliest places.

Celebrities have been creating handprint paintings of butterflies, which will be auctioned to raise funds for the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust.

Among the local celebrities who have donated their artistic endeavours are Jamie Cullum, originally from Hullavington, and Rory Bremner, who lives in Faringdon.

Other celebrities involved include Ainsley Harriott, artist Damien Hirst, gardener Charlie Dimmock, EastEnders actor Ross Kemp and singer and musician Phil Collins.

The money will go towards conservation, particularly of the Chalkhill Blue butterfly, which has been designated a species of concern in the UK Biodiversity Action Plan, which is a blueprint for restoring wildlife across the country.

On Easter Sunday, April 16, the first batch of more than 40 paintings will be auctioned on auction website eBay.

This will include works by former Goody Graeme Garden and Mastermind presenter John Humphrys.

Andrew Foot, the trust's head of fundraising, said: "Over the last two years we have been writing to a number of celebrities asking if they would help and the response has been tremendous.

"We were amazed to receive 44 replies, from some pretty big names.

"We sent them all a painting kit and they will be auctioned over a six-week period.

"The Chalkhill Blue is a threatened butterfly. It's quite specific to Wiltshire as it is fond of a limestone chalkland habitat."

One of the places the butterfly can be seen is at Clouts Wood near Wroughton airfield.

To bid for a celebrity butterfly visit the website www.ebay.co.uk and search for the WWT.

To view all the handprints and an auction schedule visit www.wiltshirewildlife.org