A LOCAL historian is trying to get people shouting about the Borders through his YouTube videos.

Mark Nicol, who is the manager of Aldi in Galashiels, has been dedicating his free time to discovering the weird and wonderful history of the region and recording short programmes for his Discover Scottish Borders page.

And he, alongside friend Stuart Wilson, has been shooting the documentaries ever since he was asked to record a short video package at work.

Mark told us: “It started when a few years ago I was asked to put together a short video when I was working for Tesco.

“They can be so easy to piece together and sometimes all you need is a mobile phone.

“Stuart helps me with the website and has produced a few videos for me. Last year we produced 38 of them and I think I have not got 127 on my YouTube channel now.

“Last year we had approximately 180,000 cross format video views, about 15-20 per cent of these from outwith the UK (USA mainly).

“Our Facebook page is about a year old and now has 3,200 followers, again with zero financial budget.”

The 41-year-old also says he wants to “bring the history to life” by making his programmes funny, dramatic and entertaining.

He added: “I focus on Galashiels and the wider Borders. I do it to promote the area for tourism but also to raise awareness of local history.

“There is a lot of talk in the local press just now about literally hundreds of thousands of pounds being spent on promoting tourism in the area. I think we are promoting tourism in the area to hundreds of thousands of people for free.

“I pick out quite diverse subjects and look at things that nobody really talks about. The obscurer things.

“It has been quite experimental and have looked at a bit of comedy, but it is the history I want to focus on, because it is really interesting once you delve into it. We shouldn’t be embarrassed to shout about our history.”

Mark’s work is available on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/discoverscottishborders