A SERVICE of traditional song and prayer used since the 16th Century takes place next month.

The Durham Committee of the Royal School of Church Music holds a service of Compline in the Saxon church in Escomb, County Durham, on Saturday, November 9, at 7.30pm. Compline is a form of evening recollection and prayer. The musical director at the service will be James Lancelot, organist and master of the choristers at Durham Cathedral.

VISITORS UP: The number of visitors to York last year was up to almost four million, the annual meeting of the York Tourism Bureau has been told. The visitors also spent more, with the money coming into the city rising 6.2 per cent to £264.2m.

PLAY GIFT: The playground at Thornton-le-Dale, near Pickering, has been equipped with new swings and special safety surfacing following a £4,500 grant from Yorventure.

HOMES APPEAL: An appeal seeking outline planning permission for a residential development at Ainderby House Farm, Ainderby Steeple, will be held in the council chamber of the Northallerton Civic Centre on December 17.

CANAL WORK: Volunteers will join National Trust staff next week to restore and conserve the upper canal and Drum Fall in the water gardens of the Studley Royal estate, near Ripon.

WINTER LIGHTS: The mayor of Scarborough, Sheila Kettlewell, yesterday launched a campaign encouraging motorists to get their headlights checked as the winter nights set in. A free checks session was held at Safeway in the resort yesterday and there will be another today at Morrisons, from 11am to 3.30pm.

ROAD CLOSURE: Motorists in the Richmondshire area are being warned of the temporary closure of a section of Back Street, Bellerby, because of maintenance work. It will be closed to traffic from Monday, October 28, for five days although access for pedestrians will be maintained.

MUSIC AND SONG: Coppers and Brass, a concert at Holy Trinity Church, in Briggate, Knaresborough, will feature the Gloucestershire Police Male Voice Choir and the Knaresborough Silver Band. Tickets are £5 each.

SCHOOL APPEAL: A £15,000 redevelopment appeal by Easingwold community primary school has now reached the £5,000 mark. Parents recently raised £1,000 in a 100-mile sponsored bike ride and the cash was matched by British Sugar.

VILLAGE SCENES: An exhibition of paintings depicting scenes and landscapes of New Earswick, near York, has opened at the village hall and will remain on view until at least the New Year.

Choir's date: The Harrogate Male Voice Choir will be giving a concert in the village hall at Whixley, near Boroughbridge, on November 1. A fund-raising event for the Village Shop Association, tickets are £12.50 each, including supper and a glass of wine.