THE Spirit of Christmas Present in Malton attracted international attention for the first weekend of the revived Dickens Festival.

The Ryedale town is celebrating its link to the author of A Christmas Carol with two weekends of events.

The Chancery Lane offices of a law firm in Malton were the model for Scrooge's counting house in Charles Dickens' celebrated Christmas tale.

The festival opening gala on Friday in the Milton Rooms saw 180 children singing carols.

Yesterday (Saturday, December 9), Hardcastle’s Mighty Excelsior Theatre Company brought a Victorian flavour to the Malton Christmas Food Market.

Today two contrasting performances of A Christmas Carol were performed at a lunchtime gala by Brian Oxberry of the Charles Dickens (Malton) Society and the Hardcastle company.

Clair Challenor Chadwick, for the Festival organisers, said: “There is a real buzz around the festival, with wide regional, national and international interest.”

The Festival was last held in the 1980s and concludes next weekend.