She is the soap bad girl who cannot escape her character.

For when Kate Ford - aka Tracy Barlow from Coronation Street - visited Aylsham today, she was taken to task for her on-screen behaviour.

Ms Ford spent three hours at the new Redwings Horse Sanctuary, cutting the tape for the official opening and touring the edge-of-town facilities to meet visitors and make a fuss of the horses and donkeys.

She said: 'Most people separate me from my character. But one person said 'I don't like you'. I said 'do you mean me or my character?' To be honest, I think people are nervous of me.'

The soap actress agreed to do the Redwings honours because the local charity took care of her ageing horse Roxy from 2004 when she got a place on Coronation Street and no longer had the time to devote to her horse.

She said: 'This place is amazing. It's a non-profit organisation with free entry and does so much good.'

? For the full story, see Monday's EDP.