ASPIRING knights have gone into battle for farmers in the Developing World.

Re-enactment group the Knights of the Black Phoenix staged jousts on horseback and displays of medieval weaponry to mark Fairtrade Fortnight, in Hartlepool.

Martin Green, chairman of the Hartlepool Fairtrade Town Steering Group, said: "Hartlepool was named as a Fairtrade Town last year, so we wanted to do something special for Fairtrade Fortnight.

"What better way than to link the old with the new at an event where medieval knights will come to blows, all in the name of fair trade?"

Alan Beattie, who is the co-ordinator of the Knights of the Black Phoenix, said: "It is certainly a spectacular sight and one that is surely a first for Fairtrade.''

There were displays and stalls, including an exhibition of canvasses made from Fairtrade cotton, decorated by local schoolchildren, which was held at Summerhill Recreation Park in Hartlepool.