A TEAM of iron workers is celebrating after scooping the first prize at one of the region's biggest agricultural shows.

The trio of blacksmiths, from Little Newsham Forge, near Winston, in Teesdale, County Durham, picked up the Worshipful Company of Blacksmiths' Trophy for the best exhibit at the recent Great Yorkshire Show, at Harrogate.

Brian Russell, 50, worked alongside Tom Heys, 24, and Sarah Andrew, 25, to produce the winning piece, which took the team four weeks to create.

The elaborately-designed iron gate, adorned with Turk's cap lilies, which was commissioned by a company in Shincliffe, near Durham, also managed to win the team the Best Traditional Piece of Ironwork award.

Mr Russell, who has worked as a decorative iron worker for almost 30 years, said the time spent creating the piece had been well worth the effort.

He said: "It's always nice to get recognition for pieces we produce, and we are especially delighted to have gained this award. A lot of hard work went in to producing this and, hopefully, we can go on to create more prize-winning pieces."

Mr Russell, who is originally from Durham, has designed gates for the new Globe Theatre, in London, Bowes Museum, at Barnard Castle, and Bishop Auckland Town Hall.