Traveller Simon Vaughan and his horse Eddie would like to thank the Sidmouth Community for all its kindness after spending around a month on the outskirts of the town.

Nub News decided to catch up with Simon, Eddie and his dog Odin after our last article on him arriving in the area attracted a great deal of attention and positive comments.

Simon, 51, has been selling his woodcarvings from a lay-by on the A3052 for the last few weeks and he's been blown away by the hospitality from locals.

"It's been great camping here on the outskirts of Sidmouth, I've caught up with friends and everyone has been lovely," said Simon.

"Everyone has been so kind, lots of people have said how nice it is to see me back again. I'll be here for one more week, fulfilling a few orders for people, and then I'll be off to Somerset for the winter."

Simon is originally from Bristol and worked for a scaffolding company before a change in circumstances in 2000 lead him to try out life on the road.

While Simon describes himself as a traveller he is keen to point out it is an adopted lifestyle and he is not an ethnic traveller.

Simon travels with his horse, a cob named Eddie, who has attracted quite a bit of attention and has become a 'local celebrity'

Simon said: "I've had no negative comments at all, in fact I've been blown away by how hospitable the community has been, everyone has been really positive.

"I've been quite surprised by all the gifts Eddie's been given. We've had quite a few people dropping off hay, feed and fruit. It's been great experiencing the kindness of strangers, it's really restored my faith in people.

"Eddie has become a local celebrity, I take him into town every other day and people can't get enough off him. I've seen people coming out of pubs just to come and see Eddie."

Simon has been camping in the lay-by throughout the recent bad weather but has remained philosophical, he said: "You can't let the weather defeat you. The last few summers were good so we were due a wet one."

The woodcarving business, Carved Curiosities, was started by Simon in 2015. Simon taught himself how to carve wood after learning how to carve wooden mushrooms with a friend in Cornwall. He is now taking life sculpture classes to help improve his carvings of the human form.

Simon's wood carving work prevented him from going to much of Sidmouth Folk Festival but he did manage to catch the Morris Dancer Parade on the last day of the festival.

Simon would like to thank people in the area for making his stay so enjoyable, he said: "Thanks for being so hospitable, it's been great catching up with old friends and making some new ones, it's been a really lovely visit."

If you would like to read our previous article on Simon, please click the red button below.