PANTOMIME favourite Berwick Kaler donned his Dame disguise to help his adopted city launch a concerted energy savings drive.

The Geordie actor is a fixture at York Theatre Royal, where he has written and starred in their annual pantomime for years.

But his latest appearance, opening the Planet York energy fair, had a serious message behind it.

The event was the first in a year-long initiative, a partnership between City of York Council, the national Energy Saving Trust and the city's Energy Efficiency Advice Centre.

It aims to show how much individual businesses, residents and other groups in a city can do towards limiting climate change, and among the things being promoted are walking and cycling.

York's Travel Wise officer, Dan Johnson, said: "Planet York is about trying to save energy at home, but it is also about promoting environmentally- friendly transport, such as cycl-ing and walking, as well as environmentally-friendlier means, such as public transport and low emission vehicles."