FIVE schoolgirls have been selected to take centre stage at Sedgefield Medieval Fair next weekend.

Bethan Lindsay, a pupil at Hardwick Primary School, in Sedgefield, has been crowned flower queen for the fair, on Saturday, May 20.

The ten-year-old said she is excited about the day because she has dreamed of being the flower queen at the fair, which she attends every year.

Her four attendants are Bethany McCleod, eight, Georgia Peacock and Emma Jane Shipley, both six, and Elizabeth Temperley, ten, of Hardwick Primary School.

Emma Jane follows in the footsteps of her twin sister, Nina, who was an attendant last year.

The youngsters, who were chosen during a village disco at the weekend, will have an extra role when the fair's format changes for the first time in its 36-year history.

They will ride in a horse-drawn carriage at the front of the opening procession, which will be on foot instead of the usual parade of decorated floats. Walkers in fancy dress will then perform tableaux on the village green. Other entertainment during the day includes Morris-dancing groups and knights and horses from the Black Knight Phoenix.