Enterprising staff at The Westmorland Gazette in Kendal helped raise the profile of the newspaper at a major carnival – by dressing up as well-loved Gazette ‘character’ Spot the Dog.

It was nine years ago that The Westmorland Gazette launched its weekly Spot the Dog competition.

Based on Spot the Ball, it features a picture of a group of sheep, taken by staff photographers at one of the many traditional sheepdog trials which take place in the Lake District each year.

The sheepdog is cleverly blanked out of the picture each week and readers are encouraged to work out where the dog’s nose would be and then mark the photograph with a series of crosses.

There is a jackpot prize if someone gets their cross in exactly the right position, plus runners-up prizes for ‘near misses’.

The competition has attracted national media attention with mentions on Radio One and TV’s Have I Got News For You, and Spot has become intrinsically associated with The Westmorland Gazette in people’s minds around the country.

Editorial and advertising staff cashed in on that popularity at this year’s annual Carnival in Ulverston, the second-largest town in the Gazette’s circulation area and where the newspaper has recently opened a brand new office.

In their spare time, they created a huge papier mache head of Spot and other props.

Then, dressed either as Spot or as sheep, they led the colourful parade of floats, dancing troupes and bands on a one-and-a-half hour-long procession through the centre of the South Lakeland market town.

Reporter Zoe Casson said: “The reaction from the crowd was excellent. All the kids kept shouting at us and wanting to have their photographs taken with Spot the Dog!”

Gazette staff who took part were reporters Jennie Dennett, Zoe Casson and Victoria Clark, advertising sales executive Maureen Payne, receptionists Gillian Simpson and Helen Lees and newpaper sales assistant Scott Patterson.

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