CHURCHES in North Yorkshire, many dating back a thousand years, are being given a big boost to their income by a scheme to make them tourist attractions.

The three-year project, launched by the Yorkshire Tourist Board, promotes the churches as places to visit because of their architecture and wealth of history.

A total of 281 churches are taking part in the project, which is aimed at attracting people back to the county in the wake of the foot-and- mouth outbreak, the Twin Towers horror in New York - which deterred US plane travellers to the UK - and the severe flooding in 2001.

Among the churches are Kirkdale Minster, Stonegrave Minster, St Mary's and St Laurence's, Rosedale Abbey, St Mary's, Lastingham, Christ Church, Appleton-le-Moors, St Nicholas's, Bransdale, St Martin's, Bulmer, All Saints, Kirkbymoorside, St Chad's, Hutton-le-Hole, and St Mary's Priory, Old Malton.

Zoe Kemp, culture officer for the Churches Regional Commission, said the number of people visiting the churches had soared by 117 per cent compared to 2000.

In the latest move, a dedicated church tourism site website has been developed - www.yorkshirechurches.com - and already 117 church-based projects have been helped.

The cost of the £227,500 project is being met by organisations, including the Heritage Lottery Fund, Yorkshire Forward, the Countryside Agency, local authorities, National Park Authorities in the regional tourist board.

"North Yorkshire is renowned worldwide for its ecclesiastical buildings, from York Minster and Whitby Abbey, to its tiny village churches, minsters and priories," said Ms Kemp.

The number of church visitors record in 2000 was 92,355, but this year it had risen to 204,000 - 34 per cent of them from outside North Yorkshire.