Hundreds of chalk circles have appeared on the ground in Marlow's High Street, leaving some shoppers scratching their heads.

The chalk graffiti appeared early on Saturday morning (June 26), leading some to question what they were all about on social media.

The chalk circles were actually drawn around dumped cigarette butts on the busy street in a bid to raise awareness about how harmful they are to the environment.

It was the work of the Marlow Wombles, a group of litter-pickers who are dedicated to ridding the town of rubbish.

The chalk circles were accompanied by phrases like "find a bin", "what a mess" and "cigarettes take up to 10 years to decompose".

The Marlow Wombles said: "We were out early this morning to mark up hundreds of cigarette butts left on and around the High Street.

"We hope our chalk graffiti will make more people bin their butts as they are harmful to the environment and take up to 10 years to decompose."

The movement was praised as a "brilliant idea" on Twitter - although some on Facebook denounced it as a "waste of time".