IT’S set to be a evening of flames and fireworks across the district, as Tynedale celebrates the start of the new year.

Crowds will flock to Allendale for the annual tar bar’ls parade, a festival of fire which has taken place for more than 160 years.

Helped along by a brass band, 45 men, known locally as guysers, will carry flaming whisky barrels above their heads through the Market Place dressed head to toe in colourful costumes.

There are specific rules to become a guyser. The role can only be filled by men, and they must have been born in the Allen Valleys – with many having inherited their status from previous generations.

At midnight, crowds go wild as the barrels are then used to ignite a ceremonial bonfire, as everyone shouts “Be damned to he who throws last!”

Also taking part in the festivities will be villagers at Haydon Bridge. This year will mark the sixth consecutive fireworks display which will light up the sky above the River South Tyne, with guests pouring in to bring in 2020 with a bang.

Visitors can gather at Church Street and the Old Bridge to catch the show, which is organised by the Haydon Bridge Get It Together Society. The event was revived in 2015, after the original successful 2000 display for the Millennium celebrations.

New Year’s Day will see the return of the annual wheelbarrow race in Ponteland, a tradition which has been running for more than 700 years.

Racers in teams of two will start at the Blackbird Inn at midday, to set-off on a mile-long circular course. Money raised from the event will go to charity.