Villagers near Boroughbridge were left angry and upset after vandals wrecked a nativity scene in their parish churchyard.

The nativity was put in place at St John’s Church in Minskip last week in time for a carol service, held outside because of covid concerns.

A central part of it was the nativity scene, which three or four of the church council had put up themselves.

The first indication that something had happened came early this morning.

The scene this morning.

Churchwarden Robert Beaumont said:

“The lovely couple, Jason and Helen, who live next door to the church, heard a noise at about 5am.

“They’re not sure if that was the vandals destroying the nativity scene but when they looked out of their windows at about 7am, all the wise men, the crib, everything, was scattered all around the churchyard.

“To have it just destroyed in this wanton and mindless manner was heart-breaking. And we’ve all been thinking, why would anybody want to do that?”

The church has reported the incident to police.

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Villagers have managed to salvage the scene and rebuild it,

Mr Beaumont said.

“Although the vandals kicked parts of the scene all over the church or they didn’t break them in two.

“So with a lot of love and care, three members of our church committee worked from about half past eight this morning and put the whole scene back together again.

“And so, as one of our church council members said, love will always triumph over hate and good over evil. And that’s one of the messages of Christmas, so that was rather appropriate.

“But that doesn’t quite extinguish my anger as churchwarden that people should find it appropriate to desecrate our churchyard.”

It caps a difficult period for St John’s. A drunken motorist crashed into the church wall about six weeks ago. Insurance covered it but the church had to pay a £500 excess.

Covid-permitting, the village will hold an outdoor Christmas Day service with the nativity scene firmly in the foreground.

At this time of year, we don’t always want to splash the cash when it comes to enjoying some festive fun.

And thanks to the creativity and hard work of the district’s residents, we certainly don’t need to.

One night this week after the school run, we hopped in the car, stuck on some Wham! and Shakey and took our two boys, aged three and eight, for a Christmas lights tour.

We all had a total blast and apart from fuel costs, it didn’t cost a penny.

So here’s a rough guide on where you can take the kids to see some fabulous lights across the Harrogate district – for free!

Crossways Drive (near Morrison’s), Harrogate

The residents on Crossways Drive understood the assignment and have created some amazing light displays. There is a moving Santa and sleigh and more coloured lights than you can shake a jingle bell at.

This was the boys’ favourite street, as most of the houses were lit up.

Crossways Drive

Crossways Drive

Sutton Grange Close, Lindrick Way and Norwich Drive, Jennyfields, Harrogate

Residents in Jennyfields are known for going all out at Christmas and it has long been a popular part of Harrogate to view the impressive displays. And this year it did not disappoint.

The boys loved the inflatable Christmas characters and found it hilarious (probably more than it should have been) that one of the Santas had fallen over. He had clearly had one too many sherries.

Sutton Grange Close

Sutton Grange Close

Sutton Grange Close

Lindrick Way

Norwich Drive

Norwich Drive is also the street where you can see an incredible Christmas display unlike any other in the district for charity.

Dale Hughes, is hoping to raise spirits and £1,000 for Martin House Hospice.

He has painstakingly installed and individually programmed 24,000 low-energy LEDs.

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From 5pm until 7.30pm his house will light up and will play a loop of around 20 songs over an hour.

Watch the amazing video of one of his displays here.

Dale Hughes is the man behind the show on Norwich Drive.

Mayfield Terrace, Harrogate 

Harrogate man Paul Ivison’s latest quirky garden creation has a festive theme and includes 13 Christmas trees, more than1,000 lights and hundreds of toys.

Mr Ivison has lived in his house on Mayfield Terrace for 15 years and each year decorates his garden with different themes. When the Stray Ferret visited in the summer, he had created a loud and proud mental health-themed garden, which raised £137 for Mind.

And in winter, he changed the theme again to “Toytropolis”,  after bargain hunting on Facebook marketplace to buy more than 200 toys to make children and their parents smile. He is now selling the toys to raise money for a Visa for his husband, who lives in the Philippines.

Mr Ivison said:

“It has been a terrific reaction and I’ve had a lot of people saying it makes them smile. I’ve had people coming late at night to see it and parents bringing little kids in to show them toys they used to have when they were younger.

“I’ve made about £150 so far and everyone who buys a toy gets a freebie as well.

“You get a lot of people driving past, as I also have a big flag on the roof, which says ‘Happy Christmas’, and people stop and get out to have a look.”

Mr Ivison is already planning his spring garden, which will have a “pride and celebrity” theme, featuring 300 photographs of celebrities he has met over the years as a result of his time at the helm of an LGBTQ+ magazine.

You can visit “Christmas at Toytropolis” on the corner of Mayfield Grove and Mayfield Terrace, with the trees remaining on display until January 9 and the garden opening from 10am until 6pm.

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Finden Gardens, Hampsthwaite

The residents of Finden Gardens decorate their bungalows each year, much to the delight of the school children who walk past each day.

The boys absolutely loved the carol singers and tobogganers in one of the gardens, which is also decked out in fake snow, Christmas trees and lots of lights.

Finden Gardens 

Minskip, near Boroughbridge

This is such a pretty village anyway, and it’s even more beautiful at Christmas thanks to the creative displays that line either side of the high street. If you look closely you may even spot the Grinch!

One of the houses has even generously put out sweets for local children next to some lollipop and toadstool decorations, which went down a treat!

We tied this trip in with a festive visit to Yolk Farm, a family favourite, which is lovely at this time of year.

Minskip

Minskip

• Where is your favourite place to see the Christmas lights in the Harrogate district? Are there any houses that stand out in particular? Email nina@thestrayferret.co.uk

Two fundraising pages have been set up to help families whose homes were damaged by a major fire in the Harrogate district in the early hours of Sunday morning.

The blaze began in a semi-detached house in Minskip and caused 100% fire damage to the first floor and smoke damage throughout.

The neighbouring property is also reported to have extensive smoke and fire damage.

People are rallying round to support the two families, so far raising almost £7,000 to go towards new furniture and appliances.

Two gofundme pages have been set up. The first was set up on Sunday by a friend of the owner of the house where the fire started, and has already raised £6,633.

The second was set up yesterday for the neighbour who has had to throw away a lot of belongings.

Both families are currently living elsewhere but are in need of donations to replace lost items.

Numerous posts have been made on local Facebook groups to encourage donations and people have offered bedding, children’s clothing and some furniture.

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North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service sent three crews to the address on Roecliffe Drive just after 1am Sunday morning.

It believed the fire was caused by a candle in one of the bedrooms, but this has yet to be confirmed.

Nobody was injured but the fire left the home in which it started uninhabitable.

A spokeswoman for the fire service told the Stray Ferret it was fortunate nobody was hurt.

Minskip is about a mile from Boroughbridge.

An unsupervised candle is believed to have caused a fire that badly damaged a house in Minskip in the early hours of this morning.

Firefighters from Boroughbridge, Knaresborough and Harrogate using and aerial ladder platform and breathing apparatus rushed to the scene just after 1am.

Nobody was injured but the fire, which started in a bedroom, left the home in Roecliffe Drive uninhabitable.

The first floor suffered 100% fire damage and there is smoke damage throughout the building.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service’s incident report said:

“Crews used six breathing apparatus sets, two hose reel jets, door enforcer, 9 metre ladder, thermal imaging camera and small tools.

“They also gained access to a neighbouring property to check for fire spread.”

A spokeswoman for North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service told the Stray Ferret the adjoining semi-detached was not damaged and it was fortunate nobody was hurt.

Minskip is about a mile from Boroughbridge.

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All creatures great and small will gather together – virtually – tomorrow, as churches in the Boroughbridge area unite for a pet service.

Rev Karen Gardiner, vicar of the united parishes of Aldborough, Boroughbridge, Dunsforth, Minskip and Roecliffe, is preparing to bring families and their four-legged friends together despite the lockdown.

Animals will receive a blessing in the 4pm online service, which is open to anyone who wants to participate, including those without pets.

Rev Gardiner said: “We’re looking forward to it very much. We’ve actually got the Bishop of Ripon joining us and giving the final blessing, so that’s going to be really nice.

“It should be a fun-packed service. We know we’ve got horses, dogs and cats so far, and we’re hoping for more.”

The united churches in the Boroughbridge area have been offering online services since lockdown began

With three cats in her family home, Rev Gardiner said animals have become particularly important to people during lockdown and she hopes tomorrow’s service will attract people who do not usually go to church. She added:

“Something like a pet service is one of those things that people relate to. At the moment, people’s pets have come to mean such a lot to them, especially if you’re on your own – but even in a family, our cats have been a tremendous emotional support. It feels right to have a chance to say thank you to them.”

Rev Gardiner’s cats will be joining the pet service too

Last year, a pet service at Dunsforth proved very popular among locals and it was scheduled to take place again this year. When lockdown began, rather than cancel, Rev Gardiner decided to move the event online.

This Sunday’s pet service will be conducted via Zoom, but anyone without the technology who wants to join in can send a photo of their pet in advance for inclusion in the service. A written transcript will also be available.

More information about how to join the service can be found on the churches’ Facebook page.

Streets across the borough have turned red, white and blue today, as people celebrate VE day.

The Stray Ferret has been speaking to residents across the district about what VE day means for them and their families.

As lockdown continues many people have spent time turning their gardens into a colourful tribute to war veterans who liberated Europe from Nazism 75 years ago today.