YOUNG people in North Yorkshire have been expressing their views of life through puppets used in the theatre production of Billy Elliot.

The Wright Stuff Theatre of Puppets has been working with young people aged 12 to 19 from the Skipton area in a consultation exercise with a difference.

Members of the theatre group, which provided the puppetry on the Stephen Daldry West End musical of Billy Elliot, worked with the young people helping them tell their life stories.

Dubbed the Skipton Factor, the puppet show tapped into young people's creative spirits as a means to examine the influences on their lives.

The resulting production tackled issues ranging from drugs and alcohol to the sort of facilities they wanted to see in the town.

They will then perform this at a Learning Lab event expected to attract more than 300 young people from all over Yorkshire scheduled for later this year.

Nineteen-year-old Lindsay Bottomley, of Skipton, said: "It has been really good. It is great to see different social groups coming together to work on this project as it ensures you hear varying views. It has been a really worth while exercise and using the puppets has been great fun."

North Yorkshire County Council's area youth worker for Craven Lisa Davies-Varnier said the aim had been to identify what young people thought of Skipton.

"They had no previous experience of doing anything like this and they worked really hard and well together," she said. "What they produced reflected how they saw life for young people living in Skipton."

Connexions personal advisor Jane Holdsworth added: "It had been a fantastic experience for us all and a really fun way to tackle serious issues."

Workshop leader Jon Dixon added: "It has been a challenging project but immensely fulfilling. We have been working with young people with a wide range of backgrounds and the stories are very much their own."