THOUSANDS of strangers united in a celebration of living in sustainable style with a frugal festival that attracted more than 40,000 visitors to the region.

For a second year, the annual Festival of Thrift returned to the Kirkleatham Museum and Grounds, near Redcar, over the weekend with more than 130 stalls, workshops and communal activities on offer across the two-day event.

The festival – originally the brainchild of designer Wayne Hemingway – has been hosted in the North-East since its launch in Darlington in 2013 with organisers hoping to share an ethos of reusing and recycling with the region.

This year’s meeting was split into ten zones across the museum’s vast grounds to host a programme of events in areas dedicated to exhibitions, performance stages, food courts and hands-on family activities.

Festival of Thrift director, Stella Hall, said: “Here’s to us all being kinder, happier, healthier and better prepared, learning and sharing new life skills and enjoying time together in 2017 and beyond.”