Festive knitters return with Dickens theme

The display features all the characters from A Christmas Carol

A group of knitters have picked up their needles once again to decorate their village with some festive delight.

The Haughton Ladies Who Knit group stitched characters from Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol to add some colour to 52 parking bollards and a postbox in Haughton-le-Skerne, near Darlington.

Last year, knitter Carol Clayton created a "12 Days of Christmas" display among other festive woolly figurines made by the group.

Mrs Clayton said this year's characters have had an "amazing response", adding it had been a "hard year for some" and the group just wanted "to make people happy".

The Haughton Ladies Who Knit started stitching the figurines in October

The display around Haughton Green and along Stockton Road features all of the characters from the book including Tiny Tim, the Ghost of Christmas Past and Bob Cratchit.

There are also other Christmas figurines adorning parking bollards.

Mrs Clayton said the group started knitting the figurines in October.

"I would do my knitting in the evenings and would sometimes stay up until just after midnight... but it's so worth it."

The knitting group said they just "wanted to bring some cheer" to Haughton

"It was a group effort and we all created at least two characters," Mrs Clayton added.

The group said: "It has made us all so happy doing them."

Haughton Ladies Who Knit have created displays for several occasions since 2022

The knitters got together in 2022.

They have created special scenes for the Coronation of King Charles III as well as Remembrance displays and one for the Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II.

Knitter Carol Clayton said this year's characters have had an "amazing response"

The group said that they were "all about community spirit" and "bringing some cheer" to the village.

"We've had people come here from different towns purely to see the display... and school groups come along too."