THE traditional skills of the countryside will be showcased in two County Durham competitions.

Dry stone wallers and hedge layers will compete at Ragpathside Farm, Lanchester, on Saturday, November 2.

The Tyne Tees Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group (FWAG) and the County Durham Hedgerow Partnership - a group set up to tackle the decline in hedgerows - is holding the competitions.

Durham County Council, part of the Hedgerow Partnership, is sponsoring the event and hopes both will attract many entries.

Clare Heaps, the council's landscape manager, said: "Encouraging traditional country skills is essential to the continued survival of the county's thousands of miles of hedgerows and dry stone walls.

"Hedges now enjoy a degree of protection by law but the general health of many is declining due to a combination of factors including excessive trimming.

"Declining hedges can often be reinvigorated by being laid so competitions such as this do a fantastic job in keeping these skills alive.''

There are open, intermediate and novice classes in both competitions and cash prizes.

For entry details call Barbara Walton on (01833) 630880.

People can watch between 10am and 3.15pm on Saturday, November 2, at Ragpathside Farm, Lanchester.