A TYNESIDE museum is hosting an exhibition with a difference - featuring items chosen by its visitors.

Objects of Desire, which has opened at Newcastle's Hancock Museum, is a touring exhibition chosen by more than 1,000 people who visited museums and galleries in Tyne and Wear.

Many celebrities picked their favourite items, including broadcaster and naturalist David Bellamy, who chose the rare plant, spring gentian.

The Hancock has some of the earliest known specimens of the plant, which was found in Upper Teesdale, the only place in Britain where it still grows wild.

Another selection from the Hancock is a stuffed wombat, one of the museum's oldest acquisitions, which was sent to Newcastle from New South Wales, Australia, in 1798. It was chosen by Jane Chilton, a presenter on the BBC TV news programme, Look North.

Other objects on display include beautifully-mounted morpho butterflies, from South America, a Maori staff and a whale vertebra.

Steve McLean, curator of the Hancock, said: "We are delighted to host this fascinating exhibition. It is wonderful that some of the most popular objects have come from the Hancock collections. I am sure visitors will enjoy seeing their favourite exhibits brought together for this special event.''

The exhibition runs until Sunday, August 13, and is open Monday to Saturday from 10am to 5pm, and between 2pm and 5pm on Sundays.