This is Wendy, the unsuspecting chicken who will be called upon to answer the call of nature when a North Yorkshire village holds a revamped version of its bizarre summer ritual.

White leghorn Wendy was today selected as the champion chicken for this year's Linton-on-Ouse Festival, where the central attraction, Cowpat Bingo, has been replaced by Chicken Dropping Bingo because of the foot and mouth crisis.

On Saturday, June 9, Wendy will be released into a field to do her business while eager villagers wait to see if her "little job" will grace the patch on which their bet lies.

Wendy was recruited after local farmer Chris Kirby was unable to provide a cow because of the foot and mouth crisis.

Linton's village hall committee believed the festival would not be the same without the bingo, and so its members dreamed up the idea of using a chicken instead.

Wendy's owner and trainer Sally Leech, a member of the committee, said the plucky fowl was relishing the challenge. "She's a stroppy one all right, and she will play to the crowd," she added. "She's got a real temperament because she is pure bred, but I'm sure she will be up to performing on the day.

"I'm just resisting all talk of feeding her curry."

Wendy will perform under her "stage name" of Henny Pennies so that, as Sally puts it, "she won't be troubled by throngs of fans beforehand".

There's one problem: Sally is due to attend a wedding at Skelton on the very day of the event. She said: "I've had a word with the couple and said that I may have to pop out half-way through to release Wendy."

Updated: 11:13 Friday, June 01, 2001