A LEAFLET has been published to tell visitors to Barnard Castle the story of how the fire brigade was called out to hose down a crowd when John Wesley first arrived to preach there.

The founder of Methodism attracted a huge crowd when he arrived on horseback and conducted a service in the town's main street in 1752.

The leaflet recalls how one of his supporters jumped in front of the hose to deflect the water, so that Wesley was later able to record in his journal: "Not a drop fell on me".

The leaflet has been compiled by Mary Lowes, a retired headteacher, who has long been connected with the tiny Methodist chapel in Newbiggin in Teesdale, which was built in 1760 and is the oldest of its kind in the world still in continuous use.

The document also relates how other early Methodist preachers suffered. One of them, Catherine Graves, was called a witch and had pins stuck into her.

But things gradually improved, so that when Wesley made another visit in 1786 he wrote: "I rode through lovely country to Barnard Castle, and found much life in the congregation."

The leaflet, which is being given out free, describes nine points in the town connected with early Methodists and invites visitors to spend half an hour walking around to view them.

Miss Lowes said yesterday that she hoped it would help many tourists gain greater enjoyment from their visits.