GUNPOWDER, treason and plot were the talk of the school gates after pupils were joined on their morning walk by Guy Fawkes.

Courtney Denham, 11, won a competition to decide which famous hero or villain would accompany them to St Helen Auckland Primary School by writing a story about walking to school with Guy Fawkes and using rocket boots to get there on time.

Her dreams then came true when Dave Eliot Cooper, of the Histrionics drama company, dressed as Guy Fawkes, turned up to help pupils walk, cycle and scoot to school.

In addition to the appearance by Guy Fawkes other members of the Histrionics drama company held a special presentation for Courtney.

MEGA Motion comes under Durham County Council’s wider Local Motion campaign promoting sustainable transport throughout south Durham.

As well as the fun walks centred around this year’s theme of Heroes and Villains, pupils earn points every time they use sustainable travel to get to school, aiming to collect enough points to become MEGA heroes by the end of the year.

Councillor Neil Foster, cabinet member for economic regeneration at Durham County Council, said: “MEGA Motion is a brilliant scheme, helping our children to stay healthy and teaching them all about environmentally friendly ways of travel from a young age.

“It’s great to see the kids enjoy such a memorable day and we’d like to wish them all good luck in their quest to become MEGA Heroes.”