IT may not be as long as the Great Wall of China, or as sturdy as Hadrian's Wall in Northumberland, but a wall in Yorkshire has won an award.

Stretching across the hills near Harrogate, the piece of craftsmanship has been named the winner of the Millennium Wall Competition.

It was designed and constructed by Keith Ledger, of Boltby, near Thirsk, who has been learning the craft of dry stone walling since taking it up in 1998.

He has worked for months, under the watchful eye of his pet hawk, Bomber, to produce a wall that the competition judges singled out for full marks for style.

He said: "I am absolutely over the moon to have won. When I moved to North Yorkshire, I didn't really know what to do with myself but since taking up the craft, I haven't looked back.

"I take Bomber with me on all my jobs and I'm very happy to continue as I am."

Frequently delayed and disrupted due to the foot-and-mouth epidemic, the completed wall beat off 29 other entries in the competition, which was organised by the Country Land and Business Association (CLA) and the Yorkshire Dry Stone Walling Guild.

The structure runs alongside a well-used footpath and bridleway on Bill Cowling's 200 hectares mixed farm at North Rigton and Pannal.

Michael Willoughby, Yorkshire chairman of the CLA, presented an engraved glass stone to Mr Ledger and Mr Cowling.

He said the competition was now firmly established as the region's pre-eminent initiative in preserving the walling skills so essential to Yorkshire's rural landscape.