STUDENTS in the North-East are working to make sure a major exhibition of Egyptian relics is a success.

More than 100 archaeological items from some of the most prestigious Egyptian collections in the country will be on display at Hartlepool Art Gallery from February 9 to May 26 - including objects on loan from the British Museum and Petrie Museum in London.

The exhibition, The Arts and Crafts of Ancient Egypt, is being organised by Hartlepool Council's Arts and Museums Service in partnership with the Cleveland College of Art and Design.

The art gallery is being transformed into a Land of the Pharaohs, ready for the exhibition, by students and lecturers from the college.

A team of 30 second-year students on the college's BA in Entertainment Design Crafts degree course has spent four months creating massive sets in which the exhibits, including ornaments, jewellery, and the mummies of a young man, a snake and a crocodile, will be displayed.

An ancient tomb recreation, which will be used to display the coffin of the priestess Nairtesitnufer, who died more than 4,000 years ago, will be built by the students.

The exhibition will also include items from Hartlepool Council's own collection, as well as from the Oriental Museum in Durham, Bolton Museum and Art Gallery, and Liverpool University's Department of Archaeology Museum.

The exhibition will be open on Tuesdays to Saturdays from 10am to 5.30pm, and on Sundays from 2pm to 5pm. Admission is free. For more information, contact Hartlepool Tourist Information Centre on (01429) 869706.