THE Christmas story has gone live' and taken to the streets in Furness, reports Jennie Dennett.

Penny Bridge Church and youth group has created a real nativity to remind people of the true meaning of Christmas and, starting in St Mary's Church, an angel is to appear to Mary and Joseph before the biblical cast proceeds with the entire audience to the village pub. After being told there is no room at the inn' and with a real donkey and baby, the gathering plods on to some farm buildings where the audience will wait by a fireside with the shepherds as the babe is born' inside the stable.

"We want people to have a chance to get closer to what it would have been like," explained Carolyn Dykes, who has organised the production with Vanda Lambton.

"Mary was this young, unmarried teenager who walked 70 miles while heavily pregnant and then had a baby in a dingy stable."

The realism of the donkey is provided by Tinsel, a once-neglected 19-year-old who is now enjoying its first Christmas at its new home at Bouth after being rescued by a sanctuary in Devon.

l Anyone wishing to attend must contact organisers on 01229-861509 or 861089 as numbers are very limited because of the roving format.

l Mary and Joseph (Hollie Fellows, 15, and Lewis