THE 40th anniversary of the first manned lunar landing is being celebrated - with the help of 1.5m stalks of maize.

A 30-acre field of the crop is being transformed to show an astronaut walking on the surface of the moon.

The design will form the basis of this year’s York Maze and in keeping with the theme high-tech satellite technology is being used to plot out the shape.

It is the brainchild of local farmer Tom Pearcy who started building an annual maze ago as a way of diversifying following the foot-and-mouth crisis.

In previous years he has created a Viking longship, a spider’s web, the Flying Scotsman, Big Ben and the Statue of Liberty - and he’s also paid tribute to the fictional worlds of Star Trek and James Bond.

Over the past seven years the maze has grown to become one of York’s most popular summer tourist attractions - welcoming more than 50,000 visitors in the short eight-week season.

"Each year I try to choose a maze design which is both topical and makes a great aerial image," said Mr Pearcy.

"Marking the 40th anniversary of manned flights to the moon is my personal tribute to the endeavour and bravery of those lunar pioneers."

He added: "By the end of this week the hard work in planting and laboriously marking and cutting out the 10km of pathways will have been done, now we just let nature go to work and grow the maize plants."

By the time the maze opens to the public on July 18 the maize should be approaching two metres in height. It will be open every day until September 6.

Admission prices are: adult £7.95; senior £7.45; children £6.95; under-threes free; family (2 adults and 2 children) £28.

The maze is on Elvington Road, just off the A1079 Hull Road. Parking is free. Telephone 01904-415364 or visit www.yorkmaze.co.uk