A RUSSIAN Prince and a champion donkey may not appear to have anything in common, but both have enriched the history of an idyllic County Durham village.

A local genealogist has used his research and computer skills to produce a DVD and help reprint two books on Heighington, the beauty spot chosen as the most perfect village in Britain by a BBC programme.

Frank Haylett has created a DVD featuring a whistle-stop 1,500 year history of Heighington in ten minutes, a pictorial comparison of the village from the 1900s to now and a tour of St Michael's church.

He has also merged two books on the village.

Heighington, by Hilary Jackson, and The Story of Heighington, by Ann Abram, have been combined and Mr Haylett has written an afterword with St Michael's vicar, the Reverend Canon Dr Philip Thomas.

Mr Haylett said: "It has been a lot of hard work, but I have thoroughly enjoyed both projects which will help create a Heighington archive for future generations."

Heighington is derived from the Saxon, or Old English, meaning either the township or Haecca's people.

The village green was planned by the Norman conquerors, while its church rises from Saxon foundations, which are at least 1000 years old.

Round the village runs an encircling road with entrances to the village at various narrow points which in the Middle Ages served as a means of defence, and animals would be brought inside to graze in safety.

Ann Abram wrote: "One such beast was Lily, a 31-year-old donkey who had won many Derbys in the North and even appeared on stage.

"Although docile and loved by all, she managed to open the church yard gate and in 1894 was found dead in God's acre."

Another colourful figure in the village during the inter-war years was his Serene Highness, Prince Alexander Yourievsky, grandson of the Czar Alexander II of Russia, who was murdered by anarchists in 1881.

Prince Alexander fled from Russia during the First World War and lived with friends at Redworth Hall and Trafalgar House for several years. "He joined in the social whirl of the county, playing hockey with the village team and helping out on local farms," wrote Hilary Jackson.

He became bankrupt in 1932, moved to Stockton and, late in life, married a wealthy baroness and settled with her in Switzerland.

For more information on the Heighington book and DVD, call Mr Haylett on 01325-312067.