THE ANGEL of the North, York Minster and Durham Cathedral are just some of the region's iconic landmarks to have been immortalised through stamps in years gone by.

Images showcasing some of the North-East and North Yorkshire's best known attractions are among those included in a gallery celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Royal Mail’s special stamp programme.

The online gallery was launched today (Friday, January 2) and features every special stamp issued since July 1965.

The special stamp programme was introduced by Postmaster General, The Right Honourable Tony Benn and sees unique series of stamps issued in commemoration and celebration of UK events and culture.

Over the years stamps have been issued to commemorate important anniversaries and events of national standing, to reflect the UK’s contribution to world affairs, to explore the British way of life and to contribute to UK culture through the patronage of art and design.

Images from the North-East and North Yorkshire have featured regularly in special stamps and the Royal Mail has compiled a list of the top ten North-East Special Stamps.

The list features a drawing of Durham Cathedral from a 1969 series, a shot of Gateshead’s Millenium Bridge from the year 2000, a striking picture of the Angel of the North taken in 2011 and a photograph of a sunlit Lindisfarne Priory took in the same year.

The gallery also includes images of the Tyne Bridge, Hadrian’s Wall, the Milburngate shopping centre in Durham and the Blyth north railway in Northumberland.

A list of special stamps featuring Yorkshire and Derbyshire sees images of York Minster and Robin Hood’s Bay take top spots.

Visitors to the online gallery can browse stamps by decade and can view stamps issued in the year of their birth.

To see the stamps, visit rmspecialstamps.com.