A CHANGE of heart by the Church of England has saved its most valuable collection of religious paintings for the North-East.

Campaigners who fought to keep Spanish artist Francisco de Zurbaran's portraits of Jacob and his 12 sons in the region, yesterday welcomed the Church Commissioners' decision not to sell the £15m treasures. They will hang in the Bishop of Durham's official residence, Auckland Castle, in Bishop Auckland, County Durham, until at least 2010, when there is a routine review of the building's suitability in advance of the bishop's retirement.

Four years ago, The Northern Echo and Bishop Auckland Civic Society led a campaign to keep the Zurbarans when the commissioners, who control the Church of England's assets, voted to sell the paintings to raise money for impoverished parishes.

Since 2001 the performance of the Church's investment fund has improved and there have been changes on the commission's board.

The civic society, buoyed by the support of the Bishop of Durham, the Right Reverend Tom Wright, and his wife, Maggie, continued to press for the paintings to stay, putting forward a persuasive argument to the commissioners in July.

Dr Bob McManners, society chairman and a castle trustee, said yesterday: "This gives us a breathing space to raise the profile of the castle and the historical significance of the paintings."

Bishop Wright said: "Maggie and I are absolutely delighted."