A POIGNANT ceremony in Great Ayton this week ended a long campaign over an historic plot of land.

After a long and hard-fought battle, the parish council received the deeds to land linked to hero explorer Captain James Cook.

The event was on Wednesday - the 276th anniversary of Cook's birth.

The two-storey brick cottage in Bridge Street was built by Cook's father and the family lived there in the mid-1700s.

Seventy years ago, it was shipped to Australia where it is a public attraction in Melbourne; an obelisk marking the spot was erected in Great Ayton and the land given to Middlesbrough Council.

Since then, the parish council has waged a campaign to get it back.

As Middlesbrough Council chairman Javed Ismail handed over the deeds, parish councillor June Imeson spoke of the village's delight.

"No-one knows why this land was given to Middlesbrough and not to Great Ayton, but it was and we have been trying to get it back ever since. Middlesbrough has looked after it well, but it is appropriate that we take care of this land.

"It has been a long and hard-fought battle," she said.

Coun Imeson paid tribute to Middlesbrough mayor Ray Mallon for his help in bringing about the handover.

"The people of Great Ayton will now be able to look after the plot - which is good as Capt Cook is an important part of the village's history."

After a thanksgiving service in the twelfth century All Saints' Church, where Cook worshipped as a boy, councillors and guests walked to where the cottage had stood.

Also at the handover were Alan Simpson and his sister, Mrs Ivy Hynes, who lived in the house as children, and said they felt very emotional during the ceremony.

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