A LEGEND from Bishop Auckland was brought to life yesterday.

Shoppers in the town centre enjoyed a parade and musical performance based on the tale of Pollard and the Boar.

Families attended workshops at the town hall with artist Barbara Agar to create 10ft puppets of the knights, boar and bishop from the story.

Yesterday, they featured in a procession from the town hall to the Newgate Centre, which was followed by music from the Voi Jazz Band.

The legend tells of a ferocious wild beast that roamed the area and how the Bishop of Durham offered a reward for its capture.

A young knight called Pollard killed the creature and, as a reward for his courage, the bishop offered him as a gift all the land he could ride around in the time it took to eat a meal.

Pollard rode around the castle, and although the bishop could not give that to him, he was so impressed by the young man's bravery and ingenuity that he gave him the deeds to some of the best land in the valley. The event was part of Wear Valley District Council's summer activities programme for the town.