RESIDENTS of a York village took their centenary celebrations to a new height with this aerial picture.

More than 200 people gathered in New Earswick for the commemorative photograph, which was taken from a Jet Ranger helicopter hovering at 1,500ft. The colourful picture is one of many events marking 100 years since Joseph Rowntree bought the land on which the village is built.

Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust's community services manager, Jacquie Dale, said the participants wore small white hats to make sure they could be seen.

She said: "It worked out brilliantly, even though there was a lot that could have gone wrong. The weather was glorious and this will serve as a wonderful memento of the anniversary." Other events taking place in the village this year include the creation of commemorative mugs and tea spoons.

Local schoolchildren will be invited to two rooms at an historic village building which have been decorated in the style of 1902, and a local artist will create a community mural at the village's Folk Hall coffee bar.

- Malton-based aerial photography specialist Peter Smith took the picture using a top-of-the-range Hasselblad camera.

Updated: 10:44 Friday, June 07, 2002