VILLAGERS watched in amazement as a VIP opened their neighbour's new kitchen.

For four years, retired Concorde pilot Alan Atkinson bored a patient audience in the village pub with the saga of the construction of the room.

Regulars had been promised a spectacular culmination to the £11,000 labour of love and 30 residents of Normanby, North Yorkshire, waited with baited breath at the end of a red carpet for the opening ceremony.

Surrounded by bunting and Union Jacks, the fanfare switched to the National Anthem as a taxi pulled into the gravel drive - and out stepped the Queen.

But all was not as it seemed because the guest was actually Her Majesty's most famous lookalike, Elizabeth Richard.

After being ushered into the kitchen, she made a suitably regal speech, praising the design work of Mr Atkinson's Finnish partner, Paivi.

And in a bizarre ceremony, Mr Atkinson's joiner received a 'knighthood.'

With a swift snip of the ribbon, the kitchen was finally declared open.

Mr Atkinson said: "Not much happens in Normanby so it gives the village something to talk about and remember.

"It was also my way of saying thank you and sorry. For four years, the locals have had to put up with the drama of my kitchen. I've bored people rigid talking about it.

"We've had numerous plans, and constantly changed them. When we finally agreed on a design and completed it, I felt it was something to celebrate."