A NEW ROUTE has been added to this year's Christmas Truck run parade, so we are taking a look back at where it all began.

Former teacher assistant, Fiona Pattinson of Bellingham, and Alex MacLennan from Forestry England first organised Northumberland’s first truck parade in 2021.

They wanted to do something to say thank you to haulage drivers for their work during Covid.

Fiona knows how hard haulage drivers work, with her husband James being one, so she wanted to do something for the workers.

Another aim was for the event to be the first large-scale social event towns and villages in the area had had for two years.

Three years after the success of the first event, new routes have been added each year, and has become one of the many celebrations close to Christmas.

The event is still used to raise money for Santa's Little Helpers and Great North Air Ambulance.