Possibly the world's most closely-watched "chicken run" topped off a great day of fun and fundraising at a North Yorkshire village festival.

The Linton-on-Ouse Festival, held on Saturday, attracted many locals for the usual array of fun and games, but there were two new distractions this year.

The first was the village's colourful array of scarecrows. A whole "mock village" sprang up overnight, with a total of 33 fake people appearing in front gardens.The winner of the scarecrow competition was Pat Marston's fearsome Viking.

And for the punters, there was Chicken Dropping Bingo, the villagers' replacement for Cowpat Bingo, lost through foot and mouth.

Eager residents watched for over an hour as Wendy, the chosen chicken, strutted about in a pen off the main street, finally delivering the goods just after 4.30pm.

The winner, with grid square 21B, was Ruth Clark.

Updated: 11:09 Monday, June 11, 2001