Carperby, near Leyburn to star in a national advertising campaign

The village of Carperby, near Leyburn, was chosen by confectionery company Mars to front its new campaign in return for a £125,000 grant to build a community sports pavilion.

Carperby beat off competition from three other villages around the UK to star in the advert after Mars bosses were impressed by the spirit shown by local people to get the pavilion project off the ground.

The company was put in touch with the Carperby pavilion committee through its sponsorship of the national Football Association and was looking for a sports-based community project that had strong backing from local people.

Casting agents and advertising experts have already visited the village to find residents to star in an advert that will follow the progress of the pavilion work.

Filming for the first segment on the advert is expected to start next week.

Steve Sheldon, chairman of Carperby Parish Council, welcomed the grant and said the village is excited about its new starring role.

“Everybody is delighted,”

he said. “I don’t think there have been any casting decisions made, but they have been doing preliminary work ready for filming to start next week.

“They will come up to shoot five times so they can follow the progress of the building and if it is good enough at the end our village will be on national television.”

The funding news from Mars came days after a visit from the Foreign Secretary, William Hague, who laid the foundation stone for the pavilion.

The Richmond MP was given a tour of the site for the new building and praised the determination of the villagers and the community spirit in Carperby.

The committee had previously raised enough money to build an access road to the site, which is just outside the village, and to complete a watertight shell.

The grant from Mars means the project will be finished well ahead of schedule and pay for sewage, water and electricity to be installed.

A representative for Mars could not be contacted for comment.