A TOWN crier made a welcome visit to a Teesside high street to promote a travelling museum.

Common bellman John Stevens donned his uniform and called out to shoppers in Stockton yesterday to promote the Curiosity Shop.

Packed with weird and wonderful historic items on loan from museums, the shop is touring around the Tees Valley and will be in the former Dixons store on Stockton High Street until June 18. It will then be packed up and moved to Hartlepool.

But the highlight of the travelling museum so far has been Peter the aging polar bear, who is about 100 years old.

The stuffed bear has been spruced up for the touring exhibition by an expert from Newcastle's Hancock Natural History Museum.

The project is led by Hartlepool Museums Service in partnership with other groups.