JANUARY shows a picture of a footballer with a toned physique limbering up before a match - while June pictures a glamorous WAG complete with hair extensions and designer sunglasses.

But it's not back copies of Sports Illustrated which are creating a buzz in Saltburn but the release of a calendar showing how the town played its part in the World Cup this summer.

In 2012 the east Cleveland seaside town hit the national headlines when knitted figures were stitched onto the railings of Saltburn Pier to celebrate the London Olympics.

Shrouded in darkness, the secretive knitters, known only as the Saltburn Yarn Stormers, furtively tied their lovingly handmade figures to a rail before dawn and followed up the phenomenon with a Diamond Jubilee tribute.

In May this year struck again with hundreds of individually knitted pieces representing countries competing at the World Cup in Brazil, from a mini Maradonna from Argentina – ball in hand, to a Frenchman in a Breton top and onions round his neck accompanied by a picnic basket filled with a tiny bottle of Burgundy.

A Spanish player celebrates a goal in front of his adoring countrymen while a beautiful geisha is the embodiment of Japan.

England fans at the hands of needle-clickers were given a patriotic twist a heavy dose of humour. One was flanked by a British bulldog and a Mini while a sunburned believer was captured in a deckchair complete with paunch and 80s mullet hairstyle next to a sign saying “in your dreams!”

Even the football WAG had her moment in the Saltburn sunshine, posing against a flag stating obvious “I love footballers”.

The petite Victoria Beckham look-a-like doll dressed in black came with matching shoes and bag, hair extensions and even designer sunglasses.

While their Olympic handiwork was vandalised after just one night, the World Cup handiwork can still be seen months after England crashed out of the competition.

And the intricate decorations can be appreciated throughout next year with the publication of the Saltburn Yarn Storming calendar 2015, football special.

The decoration has been captured by local photographer Sarah Browning of Beachcomber Cards who thought the knitting had become its own tourist attraction.

“I don’t know who the Saltburn Yarn Stormers are but their knitting is so popular people that calendars of their work are sent all over the world,” she said.

Calendars costing £7.99 are available now from Saltburn Post Office, Ripping Yarns and Celebrations in Saltburn.