THE sounds of the didgeridoo yesterday heralded the start of a week-long celebration of the birth of Captain James Cook.

Throughout this week, patients and staff at the James Cook University Hospital, in Middlesbrough, will mark the birth of the town's most famous son - who discovered the east coast of Australia in 1770 - with a series of Oz-inspired events.

Yesterday morning, Saltburn musician Kevin Howard welcomed visitors and staff to the hospital with a performance on a didgeridoo.

He said: "It is incredibly difficult to play - essentially you are the instrument as all the sounds come from yourself and the didgeridoo is the amplifier really - but I guess I'll be learning for the rest of my life."

This afternoon, youngsters on the children's wards will decorate boomerangs, and the paediatric outpatients' department will be face-painting.

There will also be a performance from Richard Grainger and the Endeavour Shanty Group, in the main entrance, at 7pm.

"Captain Cook" will make a guest appearance on Thursday morning on the children's wards, when he will cut a birthday cake with his ceremonial sword.