A WRITER famous for his Horrible Histories is helping traditional rural crafts to flourish in his home village.

Best-selling children's author Terry Deary is giving a community group access to his land in Burnhope, near Stanley, County Durham, to run courses on the art of building dry stone walls.

The Burnhope Association for Rural Crafts is repairing a wall on Mr Deary's farm, under the watchful eyes of Des Consitt, a dry stone wall expert and tutor at East Durham and Houghall Community College, near Durham.

The scheme was helped by Community Enterprise Direct, a charity which was established to help community groups and new businesses start up.

Project officer Simon Clucas said: "Over the years since the mining stopped, the village has become a bit dilapidated.

"This group formed to improve the environment and they wanted to get everybody in the village involved.

"Terry Deary has kindly offered to let them work using an existing wall on his land as a learning tool."

Villagers are already planning to stage further courses on the ancient crafts of willow-weaving and hedge laying.