SAILORS are muscling in to help an adopted charity in their affiliated North-East city.

A detachment of crew from HMS Invincible has stayed on in the region, following the aircraft carrier's departure from the River Tyne, to put their engineering skills to good use at St Cuthbert's Hospice, Durham.

The hospice, which provides palliative care to scores of sick people, has been a pet charity of the Invincible crew as part of its affiliation with Durham City since it opened in 1988. The hospice, in Park House Road, Merryoaks, used to house Radio Durham, a forerunner of the BBC stations at Cleveland and Newcastle.

In their latest visit, volunteer crew members are carrying out handywork in the hospice building, and hope to extend the visitor car park in the grounds.

The crew will eventually return to Invincible's base at Portsmouth to link up with the carrier, which sailed on Wednesday, after a six-day stay on the Tyne