A RESTORATION project costing £40,000 is under way on one of the region's landmarks.

Grey Friars Tower, in Richmond, North Yorkshire, is all that remains of a church built by Franciscan monks in the late 15th Century.

There was concern that the crumbling masonry could be a danger to passers-by, and repairs began this week to make it safe.

The work will be paid for with cash from Europe, originally earmarked for a new access route for the disabled into the neighbouring Friary Gardens. That project was shelved when it was discovered important archaeological remains could lie beneath the grounds.

A survey unearthed substantial remains only a few feet from the surface of the cloisters and complex which, in its day, also included a guest house, wash room, study, dormitory, refectory and parlour.

The work is expected to last until Christmas and, when it is complete, visitors should be able to walk beneath the tower itself