A TRIBUTE to a town's favourite son has won royal approval.

The Queen has loaned Middlesbrough a carved figure of a man - a greenstone tiki - presented by the North-East born explorer, Captain James Cook, to George III, in 1771.

It is one of more than 90 items connected to the navigator and his voyages, which form part of an exhibition which opens at the Captain Cook Birthplace Museum, in Stewart Park, Middlesbrough.

The exhibition was officially opened by Russell Marshall, High Commissioner for New Zealand, yesterday.

Acting curator Ian Stubbs said: "We've brought together some of the most significant items connected to Cook and his voyages for this exhibition. Of course, being able to display something from the Royal Collection makes it all the more noteworthy.'