A MESSAGE in a bottle found in the roof space of a village hall has inspired the community to launch another into the future.

A note in an old lemonade bottle was found by contractors working on the refurbishment of the reading room at the Middleton Tyas Memorial Hall, near Scotch Corner.

The note is signed by Alf Hardy and three others. Research suggests they were working on the building 90 years ago.

Talk about the find prompted local people to contribute to a new time capsule, which will be left where the old one was found.

It will include contributions from the village school's 86 pupils, photographs, pen portraits of villagers, maps and local history.

An exhibition of the contents was held at the Memorial Hall at the weekend, but now they have been put away for another 100 years.

Project spokeswoman, Diana Thomas, said: "The contents of the millennium box will give future generations a snapshot of life in the village at the turn of the 21st Century and the preceding 50 to 100 years.''

The lemonade bottle and note whave been framed in a case, made by Greensleeves of Richmond, and will be displayed in the hall.