A SET of six stamps issued by the Royal Mail celebrates the North-East's proud nautical heritage.

The famous RMS Mauretania is featured on the new 47p stamp in a painting by Newcastle artist Thomas Hemy (1852-1937).

The Mauretania was built in 1907 by Swan Hunter and Wigham Richardson at their Newcastle shipyard. It was a four-funnel ship and held the Blue Riband award for the fastest crossing of the Atlantic for 22 years.

She survived the First World War, working as a troopship and a hospital ship, then returned to operating as a passenger liner until her final New York to Southampton crossing in 1934.

The stamps' issue coincides with the maiden transatlantic crossing of the RMS Queen Mary 2, the largest passenger liner ever built.

The first-class stamp features a painting of the ship by maritime artist Ted Walker. He was born in Hull in 1937 and his family, including captains and ship-owners, were based mainly in the North-East.

A painting of the original RMS Queen Mary, by Charles Pears, (1873-1958) appears on the 42p stamp, and the other stamps feature paintings of SS Canberra, SS City of New York, and PS Great Western.