A LOCAL man has created a film of the Tour de Yorkshire passing through his town after residents welcomed the race in style – only to find the live coverage had cut to the advert break while the cyclists passed through.

Almost 7,000 people had visited Stokesley Tourfest to enjoy the live music, fairground rides, street entertainment, food stalls, art displays and parades which had been put on to welcome the race.

It had been a mammoth effort by teams of volunteers from local businesses, residents and the parish council who spent six months organising the free festival, which was headlined by world-famous saxophonist Snake Davis, who has played all over the world with the likes of Sir Paul McCartney and M People.

Thousands lined the streets to cheer on the cyclists as they passed through the town, but residents were disappointed when they discovered the live coverage had cut to the adverts when the race reached Stokesley and only returned as the cyclists left the town.

But now a Stokesley-based film-maker has made up for the disappointment with his short, commemorative film of the day.

Rich Lehman’s film of Tourfest’s highlights was funded by local businesses who wanted to contribute to a legacy piece to remember the day.

He has worked with a wide range of people over the years, from Academy Award and Grammy winners in Los Angeles, to local parish Councils in North Yorkshire and in 2012 he picked up an NME Award for his work on music videos.

Almost a month after the Tour de Yorkshire, businesses in Stokesley have already reported better than average sales for the time of year and have hailed the event a major success and as a result further events are now being planned in the town.

Rachel Brown, who runs Brown’s newsagents in Stokesley, said: “As a resident and owner of a small, independent business in Stokesley the magnificent effort that was put into the organisation of Stokesley Tourfest was without a doubt a tremendous success.

“Owning a retail business in Stokesley for the past 25 years the comments from residents, visitors and other businesses was all positive.”

Jane Ablett, who runs Chapter’s Deli, said: “The fantastic media exposure in the lead up to the event brought in lots of new faces to our business. It was great organisation from Hambleton District Council and our own parish council did an exemplary job and made sure everything went without a hitch.”

Local businessman Stewart Brennan, a parish councillor and one of the organisers of Tourfest, said: “Even we, as organisers, were overwhelmed by the huge success of the event.

“But the very best result is that our wonderful business community came together to make Tourfest a roaring success- and they are seeing the benefits for themselves.”

* The short film can be viewed on https://youtu.be/34KHb9yeRxc