A SOCIAL media craze that has swept the globe has found a new home in Brampton.

Going by slightly different names in different parts of the world and stemming from the original Kindness Rocks Project in the US, the pastime involves brightening up a stranger’s day by hiding a decorated rock in a secret location.

The finder is then encouraged to hide their discovery again to keep the hunt going.

Since the end of July this year, Claire Nixon, who lives in Low Row just outside Brampton, has been running a local version of the game on Facebook.

Now her group, Brampton Cumbria Rocks, is close to the milestone of 1,000 members.

“It’s escalated quite quickly actually,” said Claire, 38.

“It’s nice. I saw the original idea, I think on either Facebook or Instagram.

“I just thought it would be nice to make a local one.”

Claire is mum to two children: Tegan, 12 and Archie, six. She explained that the original motivation was to provide some out-of-school entertainment for the children of Brampton.

“It was in the summer holidays,” Claire said.

“I thought it would be nice for the local children to do one. But it’s just kind of escalated from there.”

Initially, Claire, who works at West Cumberland Farmers in Brampton, was the source for all the painted rocks circulating in the area. But now she says it is taking on a life of its own.

“As people were finding them, they started to ask if they could decorate their own,” Claire said.

“I started off just hiding them round Brampton.

“It’s quite interesting to see how far they’re getting.”

“I know there’s some that have been taken to America,” she continued.

“I did a Frankenstein one, and I think it made it all the way to California. They’ve been everywhere really.”

This week, one member of Claire’s group stumbled across a painted rock originally from Australia.

Schoolchildren in Carlisle are also getting involved in the fun.

“There’s a lady from Kingmoor infant and nursery school in Carlisle who got in touch with me and asked if I would mind if the school did them, and put Brampton Cumbria Rocks on the back,” said Claire.

“They could trace it for the children, to see how far they could get.

“It’s nice for the children to do them, because they like to see where they end up.

“James Rennie school have started doing them as well.”

Claire is pleased to have more people on board.

“The more the merrier. The more people do it, the bigger it’s going to get.”

Despite the instructions on the back of each rock directing the finder to Claire’s Facebook group, Claire said that not everyone plays by the rules.

“Some of them don’t always get re-hidden. I think sometime people think they’re too nice to re-hide, and they want to keep them,” she admitted.

But plenty of people do keep the game going. Some recent posts on Claire’s page report Brampton rocks discovered in Hampshire on the south coast of England, Moffat in the Scottish Borders and Hebden Bridge in Yorkshire.

Most discoveries are in the Brampton area, with a good number turning up at Talkin Tarn.

To mark the 100 year anniversary of the end of World War I, Claire recently hid three Remembrance-themed rocks around Brampton.

Claire explained how she crafts her painted rocks.

“I did one of the Moot Hall - as it’s got that poppy display on at the moment,” Claire said. “Most of them I use chalk pens.

“I draw my design on with pencil first, then I use chalk pens to colour it in, and then I varnish it to make them last a bit longer, when they’re out in all weathers.

“I don’t think they’ll last forever by any means, but it helps them last a bit longer.”