THE Bishop of Worcester, the Right Reverend Peter Selby, was among a party of Church Commissioners who visited County Durham's biggest limestone quarry.

The Rt Rev Selby said he was "staggered" by the landscaping work that had been carried out to restrict views of Thrislington Quarry, near Ferryhill, from the local community, by its owners Lafarge Aggregates.

The party also included the chief surveyor of the Church Commissioners, Andrew Brown, church commissioners Richard Hodges and James Howe, and their mineral agents Trevor Copper and Tim Troman of Newcastle-based Wardell Armstrong.

Richard Page, manager of the Thrislington Quarry, said: "The Bishop was particularly impressed by the size of the quarry and how well it was screened from the view of the local community."

The Church Commissioners were on a tour of their landholdings in the North-East.

They were shown the quarry by Richard Page and Ian Pearson, estates manager at Lafarge.

Works manager Dave Wilcox also took the party around the rotary kilns, which burn the limestone and process it into special products vital for the magnesia and steelmaking industries.

The rest of the quarry output in used in building and civil engineering projects in the North-East.