THOUSANDS of people are expected to visit a north Durham village for an annual carnival this weekend.

Lanchester Lions Carnival is taking place on Saturday and the fun is due to start at 1pm with a procession through the village.

People are encouraged to wear fancy dress and the theme is birthdays because it is the group's 40th anniversary this year.

There will be morris dancers and performances from Lanchester Operatic Society, Lanchester Brass Band and the Karen Stewart Dance Academy.

Lanchester Methodist Church is being converted to a cafe and will be serving tea, cake and scones.

The village green will have stalls selling all sort of goods and there will be fairground rides.

The carnival started in 1968, a year after the group was formed.

Lanchester Lions' publicity officer Brian Oram said: "The event means a tremendous amount to the village because it has been around for so long.

"Everyone looks forward to it and the schools are always very enthusiastic about it."

Money raised will be used go into the charity's welfare fund and used to buy trophies for the village's schools and fund various activities later in the year.