TELEVISION vet Trude Mostue was at a popular tourist attraction yesterday to kick off its fifth birthday celebrations.

She opened an interactive children's gallery at the World of James Herriot, in Thirsk, North Yorkshire.

The gallery is part of a £100,000 refit at the centre, which has seen almost 300,000 visitors since it opened to the public in March 1999.

The centre was once the surgery and home of Alf Wight, the North Yorkshire vet who wrote a series of books based on his experiences. They were later turned into the hugely successful TV series, All Creatures Great and Small.

Mostue, who shot to fame after appearing on the BBC TV series Vets in Practice, brought along her four-and-a-half-month-old son, Erik, to help open the gallery.

Centre manager Sue Dalton said: "Trude was brilliant - absolutely sparkling. She said James Herriot had inspired her to become a vet and she was really honoured to be asked to open the gallery.

"We had a children's gallery before, but it was quite dated and some of the exhibits were too high.

"The new gallery will also allow us to extend our educational work with local schools, an initiative which is gathering pace all the time."

The gallery is designed to give children hands-on experience of being a vet and features the latest in electronic wizardry, including 16 electronic games

The centre's refit includes a new block of toilets, containing baby changing facilities, as well as a new exhibition area and a garage for the Austin 7 car used in All Creatures Great and Small.

Published: 30/03/2004