A NEW beacon was lit at the weekend to permanently shine over the shrine of a North-East saint.

The dedication was made to the eternal flame light, placed above the tomb of the Venerable Bede, in the Galilee Chapel of Durham Cathedral.

A gift from the North-East district of Rotary International, it was donated to mark the movement's centenary.

The Bishop of Durham, the Right Reverend Dr Tom Wright, dedicated the lamp during a centenary service attended by hundreds of Rotarians from across the region, at the cathedral, on Saturday.

It was presented to the bishop by Rotary International national president Gordon McInally and district governor Syd Howarth.

The £4,000 brass lamp was designed by cathedral consultant architect Christopher Downs and made by craftsmen Stephen Hosler and Malcolm Welch, of City Fabrication, at Brandon, near Durham.

It will provide a permanent light over the tomb of Bede, the early Christian saint, a monk from the twin monastery of St Peter's, in Sunderland, and St Paul's at Jarrow, South Tyneside. Among the prominent religious and scholarly figures of the early church, he wrote the first history of the English people, in the 8th Century.

Cathedral chapter steward Anne Heywood said the flame had already proved a big talking point among the first of the 600,000 visitors to the World Heritage site to view the lamp.

"It's particularly eye catching when the late afternoon sun catches it through the windows at the west end of the cathedral," she said.

Saturday's multi-faith service was attended by representatives of the Roman Catholic Church, The Salvation Army, the Moslem community and other religious denominations.

The congregation was entertained by the Aycliffe and Brancepeth Brass Band, and by the Sugarwood Junior School Singers.