COMMUNITY groups in the North-East have been commemorating the region’s industrial heritage as part of an Easter event.

More than 300 people packed St Matthew’s Church in Silksworth, Sunderland, to be part of the Great Community Passion.

Fourteen shopping trolleys had been turned into coal trucks and decorated to depict the stations of the cross in a passion play with a difference.

Originally planned to be held outside, the trolleys laid out to form the shape of the cross were brought into the church after the pews were hurriedly removed so the event could go ahead.

The Reverend David Tolhurst, vicar of St Matthew’s, said: “The amount of work that has been done by the community in putting this passion play together is quite incredible- and that is not just the decoration of the trolleys, but getting the church ready despite the late change of plans due to bad weather.

“The local colliery closed more than 40 years ago but people who live here still consider themselves part of a colliery community so we thought it would be a good idea to decorate the trolleys as coal trucks.

“We wanted to spark interest and so we encourage people to be creative with their designs. I think it has been very successful.”

The passion play tells the story of the last few hours of Jesus’ life using the trolley art installations to depict the story.

Co-organiser the Reverend Susie Thorp, Priest-in-Charge, Doxford St Wilfrid, said: “This is a different way to tell a very familiar story, linking it to what it means to us today, because Jesus’ story of his journey to the cross was 2,000 years ago and so what we hoped to do, was to show how relevant it still is to everyone today.”

The original idea came from the BBC Great North Passion which was set in South Shields on Good Friday last year when shipping containers were used to create installation artworks.

Rev Thorp said: “This has really turned into a community wide activity, its amazing. The schools that have been involved, have managed to get all of their students doing something towards this tremendous community effort.”