HUNDREDS of people descended on Durham tonight to enjoy and flame and ice spectacular forming a centre-piece of a two-day festival.

Arthurian legend, dragons and water monsters formed the theme of the Fire & Ice festival which has returned to the city for a second time.

The grand finale in the Market Place featuring dancing water jets and shooting flames, along with musical effects will be repeated from 5.15pm tomorrow (Saturday, February 25).

The myths and legends themed festival, which opened this morning (Friday, February 24) showcases work by the UK's leading ice sculptors Glacial Arts.

The event is a warm-up for the company, which is responsible for some of the installations on Game of Thrones, before it heads to Alaska to represent the UK in the world ice carving championships.

Parents made the most of the sunshine earlier in the day to bring their children out for half-term fun with a difference.

In addition to the sculptures, there are a number of interactive installations, including a block of ice with chocolate frozen into it and a Sword and the Stone ice competition sponsored by Moon Jewellery, in Silver Street. The first person to pull out Excalibur each day wins £40 of vouchers.

Corina Rosu of Durham, who brought daughter Carola, five, said: “We love it. We saw it last year and have been waiting for it to come back.

“It think it’s the perfect thing to have for children during the half-term. We are definitely going to have a go at some carving too."

Lynne Reynolds of Houghton-le-Spring, whose son Gabe, was trying his hand at pulling out Excalibur’s sword said: “It is really great. We are enjoying following the map and getting everything in. There is a lovely atmosphere in the city.”

Lou Mitchell, of Spennymoor, added: “It is amazing. The amount of skill that goes into the sculptures and the detail they have. They look easy to make but must take so much time and effort.

"It's fantastic Durham. It’s definitely bringing lots of people in."

Laura Smith of Houghton-le-Spring, who brought her daughter Madison, five, along said: “It is a bit more interactive that it was last year, which is great.”

Nikki Whittinghan of Darlington, who brought daughter Hannah, two, and Isaac, five, for the day said: “The show is amazing. I love the Sword in the Stone competition, where the children have to try and get Excalibur out of a block of ice.

“We came last year and because we had such fun, we decided to come again. It is ideal for the children for half-term.

Adam Deathe, business manager for Durham's business improvement district (BID), which is organising the event, said: "With more ambitious ice sculptures, some of which offer the perfect opportunity for a selfie so don’t forget to pack your cameras, the festival is full of fun for all the family to enjoy.

"There’s been a great buzz across social media about the event returning to the city and we look forward to welcoming visitors from both near and far to Durham this weekend.”

  • The festival continues from 10am on Saturday, with ice carving and demonstrations in the Market Place from 1pm to 5pm. An ice-trail map can be found on www.durhambid.co.uk/fireandice