FOR the last 10 weeks, the Sitting with Jane BookBenches have transformed the streets and parks of Basingstoke and Deane into an accessible art gallery that celebrates Jane Austen’s life.

Now the summer trail has come to an end and the brightly-coloured benches are being removed to be auctioned off for charity.

However, if you missed the opportunity to see all 24 BookBenches there will be the chance to see the whole collection together under one roof at a special farewell event.

On the weekend of September 9 and 10, all the benches will be on display at Milestones Museum, where visitors will have chance to see all the unique, professionally-painted BookBenches for one final time.

Families will be able to take advantage of the free child entry – with a paying adult – across the weekend, and it will give those who still need to cross off a few benches from the app the chance to complete the collection.

After the farewell event, the BookBenches will be removed ready for the charity auction which will take place on Friday, September 15.

Tickets are available for the auction from the Ark Cancer Centre Charity and ticketholders will be able to visit the farewell event in a free, special auction preview between 3.30pm to 4.45pm on Friday, September 8.

All the money raised from the auction will be donated to the cancer charity and will help towards raising £5m to build a state-of-the-art cancer treatment centre in the north of Hampshire.

The Sitting with Jane project has been declared a huge success with thousands of visitors to the borough – 16,000 visits to BookBenches have been recorded through the event app – with many downloading the special app or visiting other attractions while in the area.

Some visitors have travelled from overseas as well as local residents rediscovering places of interest on their doorstep and enjoying a free day out.