THOUSANDS of youngsters hit the beach to see their Blue Peter heroes - and there wasn't a shred of sticky-backed plastic in sight.

With its hip and trendy modern face on, the BBC's long-established children's magazine show embarked on its first ever summer roadshow tour - choosing Scarborough's teeming South Bay as the first venue.

Presenters Liz Barker, Matt Baker and Konnie Huq were on hand to give the fans a good show yesterday, and they brought with them boy band A1, who performed live on stage.

The band even offered a few Viking history lessons, in line with the show's educational ethos.

Konnie ran the gauntlet of the "Presenter Challenge", which was to complete a hair-raising quad bike course around one of the toughest circuits in the country.

She completed the course with just three seconds to spare.

The presenters hailed the event as "a great day out", and headed off to Rhyl, in North Wales, where the second roadshow takes place tomorrow.

Updated: 11:50 Tuesday, August 14, 2001