THIS year's annual Christmas tree festival in Bellingham led to some quirky creations taking up residence in the village church.

For the fourth year running, schools, shops and organisations in the village got creative to design their own Christmas trees. They were then placed in St Cuthbert's church for all to see.

One of the more extravagant designs came from local butcher Hugh Thompson, who took a forequarter marrow bone and carved it into the shape of a dinosaur - before dressing it up for the festive season.

Mr Thompson said: "I created this monster out of a bone by standing it up and cutting with a saw. It was originally for the Christmas tree but now he's in the shop.

"Everyone's talking about him and people passing crane their heads round to look!

"I am a very creative person - well that's what my wife says - and I like to think of something different every year and think outside the box."

The Christmas trees were taken down last week following a late night Christmas shopping event in the village.

Mandy Corbett, manager of the Bellingham Co-op store organised the Christmas tree festival. She said: "He put so much effort and work into it and it's really clever and creative.

"Another one that stood out was the one from the Cheviot, which was in a tree shape but was made out of wine bottle corks.

"Many of them were traditional, but they all showed something about the people who designed them."

Through charging each organisation £10 to set up their tree, Mandy has managed to raise funds to support an over 60's Christmas lunch gathering between Christmas and New Year.