THEY turned out dressed as nuns, volunteered for head shaves, leg waxes, braved baths of baked beans, gallons of gunge and entered cream cracker- eating competitions with gusto.

Hundreds of collection buckets were shaken, raffles and auctions staged, non-uniform days held and sponsored walks completed.

Generous fundraisers were out in force across the North-East and North Yorkshire yesterday to support the BBC's annual Children In Need Appeal - which culminated in a live broadcast by BBC North East from Gateshead's Sage music centre.

Stockton Sixth Form principal Martin Clinton got into the swing of things by turning up to an important meeting sporting a purple beard and eyebrows.

A bidding war was launched for the student or member of staff who contributed the most cash to choose the dye colour.

"I can't imagine what colleagues thought when I arrived for a meeting of sixth form principals from Yorkshire and Humberside," said Mr Clinton.

Students at Northallerton College, North Yorkshire, were more than happy to donate money to see their new headteacher gunged.

Principal Mick Hill, who started in January, was covered in the concoction by fellow teacher Belinda Roy, who won the opportunity in a raffle. PE teacher Matt Uffindall also had his head shaved

In Darlington, Pudsey Bear caused a real stir when he arrived at Asda on Whinbush Way - in an Army tank.

The spectacle pulled in crowds of shoppers as Pudsey and several Army officers from Catterick Garrison, North Yorkshire, pulled up. Sixty pupils from nearby Whinfield Primary School also went along to watch.

Darlington FC manager David Hodgson and some of the team's players were also at the store to sign autographs.

All 150 pupils at Newton Hall Primary School, in Durham, dressed in their pyjamas for the day.

Many were armed with teddy bears, while they kept out the early winter cold by wrapping up in dressing gowns, slippers and woolly socks.

The school week was rounded off with an X-Factor/Pop Idol-type talent competition.

Super spy Austin Power's psychedelic 70s Shaguar sports car, used in his third movie, is on display at the Reg Vardy Jaguar showroom, in Yarm Road, Stockton, for the next two weeks.

Anyone can sit in the driving seat of the car, with its Union Jack paintwork, for a small donation.

At Romanby Golf Club, near Northallerton, 76 golfers in fancy dress played in a tournament using only two clubs. The teams included nuns, cricketers, cavaliers, cowboys and Indians and a number of Bob the Builders.

It was followed by a charity auction opened by Northallerton Mayor David Blades, thought to have raised more than £4,000.

Several events took place across the split-site campus of East Durham and Houghall Community College, at Peterlee and in Durham. They included a "death-slide" challenge, albeit with the safety of a harness.

Meanwhile, staff at the Orange call centre, in Peterlee, dressed up for the job they had most wanted to do as a child.

Among the 1,100-strong workforce were princesses, a Darth Vader, punks, Arabian princes and cowgirls.

Pupils and staff at The Oaks secondary school, in Spennymoor, County Dur-ham, donned different costumes as part of a fun day.

Events included fancy dress and activities such as film making and martial arts.

The Moss Inn, in Sunniside, near Crook, was hoping to beat the £2,000 it raised last year by inviting customers to dress in 1940s style.

A fundraising gig by folk band The Fettlers, which included a ceilidh, took place at Bishop Auckland Town Hall last night.

One regular at Wolsingham Club took a bath in a tub of baked beans. There was also a mixture of music and comedy, with performances from female duo Girls Next Door and comedian Gary Skyner.

Pre-school children from Tudhoe Moor Nursery joined Pudsey Bear for a sing-a-long at the Asda store, in Spennymoor. Then supermarket bosses took part in a sponsored cream cracker-eating contest.

Toddlers at the West View Day Nursery, in Middleton St George, near Darlington, wore costumes for the day, and covered a huge picture of Pudsey Bear with coins. They also took part in a sponsored walk.

Pupils at Alderman Leach Primary School, in Darlington, created a money trail of coins in every corridor.

The Carlbury Arms pub, in Piercebridge, held a sponsored 12-hour darts marathon, and regulars donned fancy dress.

Two male teachers at Hurworth School Maths and Computing College had their legs waxed in front of a hall packed with pupils, who paid 20p each to watch. The school also held a non-uniform day, estimated to have raised £600.

The Dolphin Centre, in Darlington, held an auction in the bar, which offered items including a Darlington FC signed football, a four-person round of golf at Stressholme Golf Club and a haircut at a town-centre salon. A raffle was held afterwards.

At RAF Linton-on-Ouse, near York, youngsters were invited to guess the weight of a Pudsey Bear cake. Also on offer for £1 was a cup of tea and a slice from one of 50 home-made cakes baked by locals who work on the airbase.

In York, the personnel of 2 Signal Regiment, based at Imphal Barracks, took part in a sponsored indoor row, covering the distance from York to London.