ANYONE passing through Silsden might have thought the village had been invaded by Frenchmen.

A crowd of people wearing stripy T-shirts were playing boules outside the old police station in the centre of the town.

But the furthest any players had come from was Shipley, as they took part in Silsden’s boules tournament to tie in with the Grand Depart.

Silsden’s Tour de France committee hosted the event, which attracted more than 60 people, including several local teams.

The Silsden Gala committee team came first with the St James’ Church team the runner-up.

The Rev David Griffiths, a member of the committee, said: “It was fantastic. Boules is a simple game to play and is a lot of fun.

“Where we played has nice trees and is shady, and people could go across the road to get a drink from the pub.”

The committee later heard that Radio Leeds was visiting Silsden as part of a series following the route of the Tour, so members organised a second, smaller boules match.

The tour committee is looking at holding similar events in future years to bring local groups together in the spirit of the Tour.

A meeting to discuss how to continue this community spirit will be held on October 11.