Meet the Harrogate woman crafting the nativity scene in marvellous miniature

Il Presepe is a recreation of the town of Bethlehem, in an Italian tradition that dates back to the 13th century and with almost every family having their own.

Valeria Burdon, as a young girl growing up, can vividly recall racing home to see if the baby Jesus had arrived in time for Christmas Eve.

Now, the bookkeeper in Harrogate shares her own handcrafted masterpiece as it goes on display at St Robert's Church this Christmas season.

There are well over 500 figurines, featuring tiny characters, a mechanical shoemaker, even a baker with tiny baguettes.

With her sister Loredana, it's taken weeks of preparation to plan and lay out each of the pieces, ensuring it tells the tale in rich detail and with vivid colour and characters.

"This a representation of the town of Bethlehem at the time that Jesus was born," said Ms Burdon.

"Everything is going on, it is busy and full of life. And that is what we are trying to create, with shops and people.

"And then a little quiet corner, with a manger, for Jesus as a baby.

"It is a joy for me," she added. "It is still a joy for me to see people looking at it. Their faces light up, it's as if you've given them their favourite toy."

The wider Presepe tradition is said to have come from the time of St Francis of Assisi, although his nativity scene was created with real people rather than replicas.

And in Naples, in the 1400s and 1500s, Il Presepe was a huge tradition, with museums now dedicated to the tradition.

Ms Burdon started building one at her Harrogate home in 2009. As it grew, she moved it first to St Joseph's Church and then to St Robert's, where it will be on display until January 6.

Through December the nativity has taken shape, with the crib at the centre featuring Mary and Joseph, and with the baby Jesus to be added today on Christmas Eve.

Each of the 500 pieces is handcrafted and carefully laid out to recreate the nativity scene.

Some are just 1cm tall, others 20cm. Some are plaster, or plastic, or porcelain. Family in Italy still send in pieces to add to the scene, and many people help.

One woman, who has a way with clay, has crafted Three Wise Men. Another has made decorative flowers. Every year, they add something new. There are tiny mushrooms even, donkeys and cats.

"We always made the nativity with whatever we had, clay or papier mache," said Ms Burdon.

"I used to come home from school and check to see if baby Jesus was there.

"It brought our family together, with everybody adding things. I'm the seventh of eight children - there was a lot going on.

"Now it still brings people together," added Ms Burdon. "A whole community, and that means a lot to me.

"It's all the little details. People love to take it in. They always say they need to come back because there's so much to see."