Aerial video: Thunderbirds are go - in a cornfield near York

IT was the corniest of TV shows, and never more so than today - as a Yorkshire farmer marked 50 years of Thunderbirds by immortalising it in maize.
By The Newsroom
Published 9th Jul 2015, 14:43 BST
Farmer Tom Pearcy, right, with Jamie Anderson, son of the late Gerry Anderson, at the York Maze. Picture by Tony JohnsonFarmer Tom Pearcy, right, with Jamie Anderson, son of the late Gerry Anderson, at the York Maze. Picture by Tony Johnson
Farmer Tom Pearcy, right, with Jamie Anderson, son of the late Gerry Anderson, at the York Maze. Picture by Tony Johnson

Tom Pearcy, owner of the award-winning York Maze tourist attraction, chose the celebrated children’s puppet show as the theme for this year’s giant puzzle carved out in his cornfield.

Jamie Anderson, son of the late Thunderbirds creator Gerry Anderson, was on hand to launch the attraction - one of the largest of its type in the world - in a 19 acre field of maize plants at Elvington.

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It features a 1,150ft Thunderbird 2, carved in an intricate maze pattern from more than a million plants.

Mr Pearcy said: “As a kid I remember watching Gerry Anderson’s great TV shows like Stingray and Captain Scarlet, but Thunderbirds was my favourite. I wanted to do something big to mark the 50th anniversary.”

Jamie Anderson added: “I’m sure my father would have been thrilled to see this and he would have been particularly interested in the design process and how it has been carved into the field in such impressive detail.”

The maze opens on Saturday, until the end of the summer holidays.

Related topics:YorkYorkshireElvington