AN annual autumn art exhibition is to get under way in Accrington this week.

The Autumn Haworth Art Gallery Open Art competition has attracted 286 works from 162 artists from as far afield as Leeds and Liverpool.

The theme for this year's competition is trees, and 147 works have been chosen for display.

This year's crop of works has been produced on a variety of media, and subjects range from very detailed nature studies to an ambitious steel tree with stained glass leaves.

Other exhibits include the first line of poems about trees written on wood with a hawthorn quill, embroideries, paintings on silk, and profiles of trees silhouetted against bright sunlight or half lost in mist.

Around a fifth of the artists who took part were from Hyndburn, including painter June Houlding and foam sculptor Ingrid Ritter.

The exhibition will feature educational activities such as an artists residency and free drop-in art sessions on the tree theme from 2pm to 4pm on Fridays from November 7 to November 28.

The Open Art display will be officially opened by Mayor of Hyndburn, Coun Wyn Frankland at 7pm on Friday and will show until December 7.

The Haworth is open on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 2pm to 5pm.