Cumnock Business Association are running a free, Pokemon Go style, augmented reality trail in Cumnock this Christmas.

The idea behind the event is to encourage families to come into the town centre.

The trail is a story driven experience that players can complete in any order and, while being engaging and fun, is designed to encourage people to get out, do some walking, and discover hidden parts of the town.

The ‘Santa Needs You!’ AR Trail is positioned around the town centre with ten Christmas animals to find and scan with your phone, which then come to life on your device.

A spokesperson from the CBA said: “Rudolph has taken the year off and opened his spot on the sleigh team to the whole of the animal kingdom and players are tasked with visiting each of the hopefuls and helping Santa decide by voting at the end.

“The ten creatures on the trail have been specially commissioned for the trail and have been modelled in 3D for augmented reality, ‘Pokémon Go’ style. Once players open the AR they can take selfies or even record movies with the animals.”

The trail will take about forty-five minutes to complete and it’s completely free for families and groups to take part in.

It works by using QR codes, without the need to download or sign up to anything.

With safety in mind, it has been designed so that there is no need to go inside the venues, but some participating businesses are offering extra incentives to come in while you visit.

Organisers say that younger children will enjoy spotting the cute animals in host windows and older kids, and grown-up ones, will be able to engage by reading the stories and taking hilarious selfies.

The trail is already up and running and if you want to find out more, visit the website: www.santaneedsyoutrail.com