A NEWCOMER to pantoland is about to make her stage debut in one of the festive season's classics.

Daisy the cow has signed up with the Hawes Operatic Society and will be treading the boards in their Christmas show Jack and the Beanstalk, by Norman Robbins.

Daisy will be taking to the stage with a little inside help from Barbara and John Drew.

Mrs Drew oversees the hiring of costumes for the society, and when she saw the pantomime cows on offer from theatrical costumiers she was not impressed.

"I just knew I could do better," she said, and with some sponsorship from the Wensleydale Creamery, she set to work making a cow for the society.

"Walking into the kitchen and seeing a full-size cow developing took a bit of getting used to," she said.

"But Daisy is already proving a great hit with the younger members of the cast - they all make a big fuss of her during rehearsals."

Performances run from December 2 to 7, in the Market House, Hawes, and tickets are on sale at Pennine Gifts, Hawes. For details, call (01969) 667658 or go to www.hawesoperatic.co.uk