Massive Sudoku grid a puzzle to villagers (From Gazette Series)

Massive Sudoku grid a puzzle to villagers

BAFFLED villagers in the sleepy village of Hinton woke up on Wednesday morning to the sight of a colossal puzzle which had appeared overnight on the hillside.

Measuring 275ft x 275ft, the giant Sudoku puzzle in a field at Hinton Farm, can be seen by neighbouring villages up to three miles away and pundits are predicting that an estimated one million commuters and tourists travelling east out of Bristol will also be able to view the puzzle, just west of junction 18 on the M4.

Sudoku - the puzzle phenomenon that is sweeping the nation - has now gained a place in the record books thanks to this week's mammoth grid. The giant brain teaser contains 81 squares each measuring 30ft x 30ft and each number is 15ft high.

Guinness World Records confirmed on Wednesday that the hillside riddle would gain a place in the record books as The World's Largest Sudoku Puzzle.

A team of 20 designers from entertainment channel Sky One worked overnight to create the design which was specially commissioned to celebrate the channel's new show - Vorderman's Sudoku Live, the first programme of which will be broadcast at 9pm tonight.

The team marked out the puzzle using environmentally friendly materials that should last for up to seven days - just enough time for puzzle lovers to try and solve the hillside riddle and claim a £5,000 prize.

However, Hinton villagers were less enthusiastic about the record-breaking puzzle, principally because it cannot be seen from the village.

All those that the Gazette spoke to knew nothing about the giant puzzle or even the Sudoku game itself.

One resident said: "It's a stupid idea. I don't care about it being an eyesore, it's the fact that drivers are supposed to pay attention to the road. "Whoever gave them permission to do that needs their head seen to."

Others thought that the puzzle was not in keeping with the character of the area, while the television company was criticised for doing it in the first place.

An elderly resident told the Gazette: "What gives them the right to go painting our countryside like that? It looks stupid."

Brain boxes who solve the puzzle should log onto www.skyone.co.uk to enter the competition.