THE North-East's top museum is starting the search for a new chief following the early retirement of its suspended director.

Peter Lewis, 62, will officially leave Beamish Museum, County Durham, at the end of the month, as revealed by The Northern Echo. There are no plans for him to return to his desk in the meantime.

He was suspended in September over an allegation that letters for the Friends of Beamish - the charity that supports the museum - did not reach it.

The joint committee - made up of councils that fund the museum - decided not to pursue an investigation of the allegation after Mr Lewis announced his retirement.

Yesterday, the committee met behind closed doors to approve Mr Lewis's retirement and appoint John Gall, 53, deputy director since 1984, as acting director.

It also approved plans to seek a new director, a process that could take several months.

Afterwards, Anthony Ewin, the committee's legal advisor, said: "We are going to go ahead with looking for a a new director. We have approved a process for that and we envisage it will take quite a long time, six months possibly.

"That will involve taking expert advice from museum specialists. One person identified so far is Sue Underwood, of the North-East Museums Service, but there will be others. It will be a national search, possibly international."