How a duck is putting a town 'back on the map'

There are many creative ways to promote a town's heritage – but not many of them involve a "duck" creating viral videos.

The quacking idea was the brainchild of conservation architect Christian Montez, who has been donning a duck mask to highlight the history of his hometown of Leominster, Herefordshire.

As well as featuring himself in his unusual attire, the videos include catchy songs played along to images of some of the town's historical architecture.

Among the reels, which he posts on the Leominster Heritage Instagram profile, is one about corbels and barge boards, which has been viewed more than 2.8 million times.

"The duck's putting Leominster back on the map," Montez told BBC Midlands Today.

"It's a little market town in north Herefordshire - it's got a lot of history, it's got a lot to sing and dance about."

He said the campaign was about instilling a sense of pride in the town and encouraging people to "take the time to look up".

"You can have your head down; you could be looking at your phone, and you don't often see what's around you," he added.

"If you just take those couple of minutes, there are corbels and barge boards."

The town has hundreds of listed buildings, including the Grade I-listed church, Leominster Priory, and Montez said some others dated as far back as the 13th Century.

He said he would sometimes work on buildings where old plasterboard had been taken down, uncovering parts that dated hundreds of years further back than they first thought.

"It's exciting," he added. "You go into a building; you feel a little bit like Indiana Jones discovering a tomb for the first time. It's all here to uncover."

Montez's videos have been seen across the world, and the creator has noticed people talking about them outside the area.

"I went to a meeting outside of Herefordshire, and as I walked in, people were talking about one of the songs," he added.

Asked what parts of Leominster's history he found so special, Montez referred to its connection with Saxon kings and its former nuclear bunker.

"There's an element of uncovering things but also, Leominster's Leominster – it's always been fiercely independent," he said.

"It kind of gets shrugged off a little bit… There's so much history here."

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