A COUNTY’S curiosities are explored in a new book.

The A-Z of Curious County Durham includes stories and mysteries from the area past and present, compiled by Martin Dufferwiel, a popular history writer.

There are stories of saints and warlords, highwaymen and haunting, monsters, murders and mysterious deaths, fairies, UFOs and terrifying beasts.

Mr Dufferwiel, who lives in Durham City, based the volume on the chronicles of stories popular in Victorian and Georgian times.

He came up with the idea while researching another of his books.

“There are all sorts of different things, nuggets, in there,” the 59-year-old said.

“You go from brutal murders to lost dogs, from ghosts to two £5 notes being found inside a walnut. It’s very eclectic.

“I hope it will appeal to readers who aren’t particularly interested in straight history.”

Mr Dufferwiel, a former Durham City Council officer, previously penned Durham: Over a Thousand Years of History and Legend and Durham: Fact, Fable and a Procession of Princes.

The A-Z of Curious County Durham, published by The History Press, is available now from local bookshops, priced £12.99.