A North Yorkshire village doubled for Bethlehem as youngsters staged a recreation of Mary and Joseph's search for a room in which to give birth to baby Jesus.

Mary, acted by three-year-old Claudia Atkinson, perched on Tom the Donkey as she led a procession through the streets of Stillingfleet, accompanied by Joseph, played by six-year-old Jacob Atkinson.

The event, organised by the Sunday school of Stillingfleet Parish Church, was planned as an alternative to a nativity play.

The procession, made up of villagers, sang carols as the search for room in Bethlehem was acted out, until the appearance of the Angel Gabriel, or three-year-old Emily Cameron, appeared before the couple in the village churchyard.

Organiser Kathleen Pollard, who runs the Sunday school, said: "The children were too young for a nativity so I came up with the idea for this.

"It is very unusual and it was thoroughly enjoyed by everybody, which was the aim of it."