FATHER Christmas will be travelling first class this winter after a group of Teesdale teenagers completed a mission to be his ultimate little helpers.
Ten boys, aged 14 and 15, from Teesdale School, in Barnard Castle, have been beavering away in their workshop at The Hub to design and make a sleigh fit for St. Nick.
The large wooden structure, which is six foot long and four foot wide complete with reindeer, will be used as part of the Barnard Castle Town Council’s Christmas celebrations on Friday, December 5, which will see Father Christmas ride in on the sleigh before setting up his grotto in the Methodist Church.
The teenagers have been working on it for weeks under the guidance of Teesdale YMCA apprentices, Harry Day and Josh Macdonald, both 18, who are helping them complete an art and design craft course with the YMCA.
The YMCA's training and development manager, Tom Watson, said: “It will be really good for them to have ownership of something happening in the area and hopefully they will feel quite proud about what they have done.”
He added: “It’s been an interesting challenge and everything they have got a lot out of it – they have worked really hard and it looks great!”
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