STEEPLEJACKS are carrying out a detailed survey of a prominent North-East landmark.

Stone masonry experts donned hard hats and used ropes attached to rings at the top of the 152ft Column of Liberty, on the National Trust's Gibside estate, near Gateshead, yesterday.

Contractors from Stone Technical Services are using the technique as the only means of carrying out the ten-yearly survey of the stonework on the column, which has so far withstood the ravages of two-and-a-half-centuries of the North-East climate.

They are checking how well preserved the structure has remained since the last major restoration work was carried out, in 1993, when a similar survey revealed the figure of Liberty statue at the top of the column was in a dangerous condition.

National Trust regional spokeswoman Lisa Hadwin said: "There is no staircase inside the column, because it's filled with rubble, so the only way to climb the column is from the outside."

During the two-day exercise they are logging the condition of stonework, joints, pointing and metal cramps, carrying out remedial repairs along the way, before assessing whether more substantial work will be required.

The column, designed by Daniel Garrett and carved by Christopher Richardson, was built between 1750 and 1757 for estate owner and coal baron George Bowes.

Bowes chose the figure of Liberty as it was thought to espouse the values of the Whig party, of which he was a prominent MP.

Gibside, six miles south-west of Gateshead, in the Derwent Valley, was a former home of the late Queen Mother's family, the Bowes-Lyons.

Its chapel and avenues were donated to the National Trust in 1974.