A BALLOON artist has given a display of his skills to an audience of young hospital patients.

Alan Young entertained children in the Treetops ward at Durham's University Hospital of North Durham.

Although he is a regular visitor to the children's ward in the run-up Christmas, he thought National Balloon Week was a good reason to pay a visit and bring a smile to the faces of the young patients.

Mr Young, who runs Sunsett Balloons, made balloon creations to order, and left all the children with a colourful reminder of his visit.

It was not only the children who benefited -he also handed a heart-shaped balloon to a member of the ward staff who recently returned from her honeymoon.

Treetops ward nursery nurse Angela Traynor said: "He has been a few times now and the younger children, particularly, really enjoy his visits.

"He is really good at what he does, even making a fishing rod with a fish on the hook for one little boy who likes fishing.

"He made a butterfly, a snake and a dog for some of the others, and a horse for one little girl who is in because she fell off her horse."