AS scores of people stood in a queue for money, passers-by could have mistaken the scene for one during the Northern Rock bank run five years ago.

While standing in an orderly line spanning the nave of Christ Church, in Great Ayton, North Yorkshire, the residents of Captain James Cook’s home village appeared keen to receive the £10 notes being handed out for free by its vicar.

The buzz was due to the parishioners embarking on an altogether different mission to the one in which bank customers attempted to rescue their savings.

Church leaders said that, by handing the cash out, parishioners would be able to follow in the footsteps of the benevolent explorer, sharing their resources with those less fortunate, both at home and abroad.

Churchgoers were challenged to create a “wave of goodwill” across North Yorkshire and the North-East.

Captain Cook was killed in Hawaii following harvest celebrations in 1779, but the Reverend Paul Peverell, the church’s vicar, said he was hoping this year’s harvest festival initiative would prove bountiful for the community.

Before the 9.15am harvest communion yesterday, clergymen confirmed the usual 120 or so worshippers had turned out for the service, ending some church members’ concerns that crowds of people would turn up to collect “free money”.

Mr Peverell had withdrawn £1,700 from the church’s funds, made up from payments for weddings and its weekly collection plate, to distribute “God’s money amongst a community facing tough times”.

Holding two wads of notes aloft, he told the congregation to spend the money on enriching the lives of isolated residents or as the basis for further fundraising, inspiring people and creating a ripple effect across the region.

Before handing out more cash at a family service and a cubs’ parade, he said: “Harvest does not touch nearly as many people as the US Thanksgiving does, but we have a tremendous amount to be thankful for.

“The money could even be used to cook a cake and take it to the parish council, where they volunteer to work on behalf of the community.”

While some churchgoers said they felt uncomfortable taking the money, which is normally donated to charities involved with alleviating poverty overseas, most of the congregation accepted a £10 note.

After the service, motherof- three Michelle Armstrong said she was considering using the cash for a fundraising cake sale, while photographer Stephen Griffiths said the £10 would be ploughed into creating a calendar for a church in Aleppo, Syria.

Mr Griffiths said: “This is just another way of using the talents and inspiration of the congregation.”