THE Duke of York kept up a family tradition yesterday - following in the century-old footsteps of his great-grandad.

A hundred years ago, in June 1900, the then Duke travelled to Helmsley, in North Yorkshire, to place the foundation stone for the new town hall.

Yesterday, a 400-strong crowd gathered there again to watch history almost repeat itself when the present Duke paid a return visit.

For the past ten years, residents of Helmsley have been raising £180,000 for an extensive programme of restoration at the hall to help it meet the needs of the 21st Century.

"When it came to the reopening, Geoff Nicholson, chairman of the management committee, immediately thought of inviting the Duke. "We invited him more in hope than in expectation," he said.

The Duke was given a tour of the new-look building where he unveiled a plaque to mark his visit.

He also raised a laugh after he was presented with two mugs commemorating the hall's centenary.

"I was puzzled as to why I was being presented with two mugs when there is only me - but then I realised they are a gift for my daughters, Beatrice and Eugenie," he said.

There was also more laughter outside, courtesy of three-year-old Riannon Voice, who was visiting with her parents from Lichfield, in Staffordshire.

She presented the Duke with a bouquet of flowers but as he walked off she made it clear she could not bear to be parted from him, dashing after him with open arms while shouting: "I love you Duke of York."

The bemused Duke, no stranger to such adulation, took her by the hand and led her back to her red-faced, but smiling, mother