A thrilling hunt for a golden bookmark to win a year's free theatre tickets was just one of the ways Helston Library hoped to inspire a love of reading on Saturday.

It was part of a series of celebrations taking place around the county as part of National Libraries Day.

Libraries, including Helston, joined forces with the Hall for Cornwall and Rogue Theatre to encourage people to find out more about the large range of services on offer and join in the hunt for three golden bookmarks.

These have been hidden in selected books in any of Cornwall's libraries, which will give the lucky finders a year’s free theatre at the Hall For Cornwall.

In addition, 30 pairs of theatre tickets are also available to those finding a silver bookmark.

The hunt may have been launched on Saturday, but it will remain ongoing until March 29 - and so far, all the tickets remain up for grabs.

Merryn Kent, Cornwall libraries reader services team leader, told the Packet: "We're trying to encourage families and younger people, and people who wouldn't necessarily go to the theatre."

For this reason the tickets are unlikely to be hidden in books connected to the world of theatre or the arts, but those that might be taken out by people with other interests.

In the region of 170 people visited Helston Library on Saturday, to not only hunt for bookmarks but also enjoy a creative storytelling session with Ollie Oakenshield from Rogue Theatre.

At the same time they were able to learn about all that libraries offer - not just in terms of borrowing books for free, but also use of computers, free reading of magazines and the opportunity to learn a new language online.

More events will take place at other libraries in the county over the next six weeks.