Kids in Nottinghamshire have gone "looming" mad for small plastic wrist bands.
The cheap and colourful rubber bands have become an instant success with children – and their parents across the country.
They can be twisted and shaped into jewellery or shapes on a loom.
Available from pound stores or market stalls, they are proving an inexpensive form of entertainment - the bands cost less than £2 for a pack of hundreds. A big kit with the loom can be picked up for under £15.
Olive Eccles, nine, from Lady Bay, is a fan of the new craze and said she likes all the different colours.
She said: "I saw a lot of people playing with them at school and they saw it on an advert. Then the shop down the road started selling them so I got them.
"I like to play with them a lot, but we are not allowed to wear them to school because people play with them."
Olive has progressed from making bracelets to fruit.
Her mum Karen said: "Olive loves the loom bands because she can make pretty much anything out of them as well as bracelets.
"She goes on YouTube to find out different ways of making things like strawberries.
"I really like them because she can do them anywhere. We've had to make several long journeys and she can sit and make them in the car - she can take them to her grandparents'.
"Everyone at her school is interested in the bands and they even made a skipping rope out of them. I couldn't believe it.
"She's quite a creative girl anyway but it gives her something to do."
She said that boys have even got involved in the craze and added: "It's better than them being glued to things like iPads and it shows you that there is no gender boundary."
Dean Flagg, owner of the loom band stall situated on Clumber Street, in Nottingham, said he believed they could be the key to distracting children away from electronic devices.
"We've been told that loom bands are the only thing taking kids away from devices like iPads, and that's another reason why they are so popular with parents.
"I think it's important to try and steer kids away from electronic devices and for them to be more active."
Loom bands have even taken off among celebrities, with
trend-setting Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge, even being spotted wearing a bracelet. She is rumoured to make the bracelets too.
Dean said he believed that this has made the craze an ageless hobby.
"The bands are popular with all ages now because of Kate. Originally, it was for kids but now because she's making them it's for all ages. The oldest customer we have is 87 and she is only doing it because of Kate. It's only going to get bigger."
Other celebrities spotted wearing loom band bracelets include Miley Cyrus and One Direction's Harry Styles.
Children can let their imagination run riot with designs.
On YouTube, there are hundreds of videos showing how to make different types of bracelets, including the dragon claw, the zipper chain and the inverted fishtail.
But Dean believes that bracelets are only the start.
"It's not just wristbands that you can make with the loom bands, it's animals, it's fruit, somebody has made a bike, they've made a jacket, bikinis, and they are making it all."
Professor Mark Griffiths, a psychologist at Nottingham Trent University, said anything that steers youngsters away from TV, computers and other electronic devices is a good thing.
"Making loom bands can be fun, exciting, and creative and banning them from school appears excessive, " he said.
But, as with most crazes, the fad is likely to have a short shelf life.
Dr Griffiths said: "The current craze is unlikely to last more than a year or two – although there will always be a small minority where the hobby doesn't die out."
The obsession has made inventor Cheong Choon Ng, a Malaysian immigrant to the US, a rich man. He came up with the idea after watching his daughters making bracelets out of rubber bands.
Have your kids gone mad for the loom band craze? Tell us your stories - and send photos of your creations to newsdesk@nottinghampost.com
