THE Lindisfarne Gospels were on view at one of the oldest Saxon churches in England as the manuscripts started a tour of the region last week.

Although not the original, the high-quality colour copy of the gospels thrilled youngsters and villagers at Escomb Saxon Church, near Bishop Auckland.

The Gospels are in the care of Durham County Council for one month and will be taken on a tour of 24 schools through the County's mobile Library bus.

The journey started in Escomb and will finish there when the tour comes to a close at the end of March.

John Malam, operation manager for West Durham Cultural Services, said: "There are copies of the gospels at Durham Cathedral but we thought it would be nice to bring it out to people in the rural communities rather than see them go down to London and see the originals or travel to the cathedral."

The Gospels were written in the Eighth Century in Northumbria and were kept at Durham Cathedral until they were seized by Henry VII in 1537 and taken to London.

In recent years there has been a growing demand for their return to the region and the campaign gathered pace this week when it was discussed in Parliament.

Although the final decision lies with the British Library in London, a delegation of North-East MPs are to meet with the library board to plead, in person, for their return.