ELEVEN students from the University of South Carolina have been taking in the historic sights of North Yorkshire.

The group spent a day in Richmond with Richmondshire's conservation officer, David Elliott, finding out how conservation is incorporated into the local planning system and visiting properties where restoration work is in progress.

They also came face to face with the more dramatic side of conservation work, with a look at the flood-damaged Mercury Bridge.

The trip is an integral part of several courses at the university dealing with historic preservation and museum studies.