CAMPAIGNERS who dropped their fight to bring the Lindisfarne Gospels back to the North are furious that the two replicas they were given are far from unique.

They believe they were duped into dropping their protest after learning the British Library has made nearly 1,000 copies of the Gospels, which are being offered for sale on the internet, priced £13,000 each.

Now local historians are to relaunch the battle to have the seventh-century gospels returned.

The North-East had hoped to win the Gospels back so they could go on display at their island birthplace in Northumberland. They have been kept in London since they were seized by Henry VIII in 1537.

The argument appeared to have been settled in January when library officials agreed to pay for two replica copies to be made - one for Durham Cathedral, the other for a heritage centre on Lindisfarne.

When the replica went on display in the cathedral earlier this year, more than 800 people an hour queued to see it.

Huge celebrations took place to mark their arrival with a dedication service filmed by the British Library.

Campaigner John Danby said: "The dedication ceremony now looks like it was an extended advert to help them sell other copies. When there were only a few copies, we maybe had less of a chance of getting back the original - now there is no excuse."

Campaign leaders said they were told that only four copies were being made - two for the region, a spare for the British Library and one for the Vatican in Rome.

A British Library spokeswoman denied the campaigners had been misled and said it had never hid the fact that more copies would be made.

"These are very expensive items and it would not be possible to produce just four," she said.

The former Bishop of Durham, the Rt Rev Michael Turnbull, who retired this year, led the campaign to bring the precious book home.

The Northumbrian Association, which counts the former bishop as a member, plans to ask for support from his successor, Tom Wright.

If he agrees, the crusade to bring back the book would start in earnest next spring.

The Gospels were laboriously produced by Eadfrith and the monks of Lindisfarne, in honour of St Cuthbert, whose shrine is in Durham Cathedral.

After Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries, the Gospels went into private hands, until 1973, when they became part of the British Library collection.

A third copy of The Gospels has arrived at Bede's World in Jarrow, South Tyneside. It will spend five weeks there, before being moved to Hartlepool Museum, Bowes Museum in Barnard Castle, Hexham Abbey and then Chester-le Street library.