A giant maze, comprising more than three kilometres of paths in a living maize crop, has opened in Wiltshire.

The Great Western Maze was constructed using innovative techniques including satellite GPS tracking.

The maze is based on a jungle theme and features observation towers and a victory bridge that gives visitors a panoramic view.

The attraction, near Swindon in Wiltshire, is open until the crop needs to be harvested in late summer.

I know nothing about farming, although I know an awful lot about maize now

Lynda Warren

The maize maze covers six acres of north Wiltshire countryside with two miles of paths - hedged by corn on the cob - mapping out the shape of a giant monkey.

Lynda Warren who is responsible for the work, rented the field from a farmer friend.

"I'd been to one a couple of years previously," she said.

"It was one of those special things I did with my girls that we all loved - no one was dragging their feet - it was fun just simple wholesome fun."

The puzzle is based on a design by Adrian Fisher, the man who started the craze in 1993 by creating a record-breaking maize maze on a farm in Pennsylvania, USA.

Lynda Warren rented the field from a friend.

"I know nothing about farming, although I know an awful lot about maize now," Ms Warren said.

On 1 May she was faced with an empty brown field, but by the end of the month it was full of two-inch corn shoots.

GPS (global positioning system) was brought in to mark out the paths of the maze.

"We had a guy with a satellite antennae and a hand-held computer and he literally walked down the centre of every path while someone walked behind him spraying a white line."

More than 200,000 plants were hand-cleared to flesh out two clear miles of path.

Ten days of weeding later, the monkey maze shape began to emerge.

The maze opened to the public on Friday.