FESTIVE fun came early to the North-East when postman Bruce Howlett helped launched the Royal Mail's Christmas stamps.
Staff went to Mistletoe Street in Durham to display the five self-adhesive stamps, which feature the traditional symbols of the season - holly, ivy, mistletoe, fir and spruce.
The stamps, which go on sale from tomorrow, will brighten up billions of cards - and will make someone a millionaire.
Anyone who buys a book of 12 first class Christmas stamps between tomorrow and December 21 will have a chance to win the bumper prize, as well as others, as part of a joint promotion between Royal Mail and The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.
Prizes are hidden in 14 million The Lord of the Rings game cards, which are wrapped up with the books of stamps.
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