FOR almost 150 years the famous White Horse of Kilburn has proudly stood sentinel on the edge of the North York Moors.

But the passage of time affects everything - and more recently the huge landmark by Sutton Bank has been looking more like an old grey mare.

However the signs of age are now being steadily removed - with the help of 2,000 litres of white paint.

High-powered equipment is being used to restore the horse to the pristine whiteness it had when local schoolteacher John Hodgson and his pupils created it back in 1857.

In the past the white horse used to be given a facelift by spreading tons of chalk chippings all over it.

However in 1999 the White Horse Association tried painting it for the first time - and found it far more effective and longer-lasting.

Only now, after six years of additional weathering, has it lost its gleam - and over the next few days two new coats will be applied.

Eden Whatnell of Rooftec (ALL CORRECT) in Sutton-on-the-Forest is doing the work free of charge and the association is only having to pay for the paint.

Association chairman John Bielby said: "How long it takes will depend upon the weather.

"Wind is a problem because the paint could blow across the area where there are walkers."

The whiter horse is one of the largest of its kind in the country and is visible for miles across the Vale of York.

It stands 340ft long and 228ft high and stretches over an area of about one acre.

Just a few weeks ago repairs had to be carried out on a small area at the top of the horse which had been damaged by people walking on it - and that needed 30 tons of chippings to complete.