A MUSEUM has welcomed a new member of staff to help with its promotion.

Ruth Robson has joined Bowes Museum, in Barnard Castle, County Durham, in the new position of head of marketing and development.

She will lead a team promoting the museum and raising funds for it.

She said: "This is an exciting period to become involved with the Bowes Museum.

"Much-needed capital redevelopment has just begun, starting with repairs to its leaky roof.

"I come from Sunderland and remember visiting The Bowes Museum as a child when the museum's icon, the Silver Swan, was coin-operated."

Mrs Robson's career started with the BBC, where she became a studio manager at Broadcasting House, in London.

She then worked on the launch of Classic FM in 1992 before she moved to the US with her husband.

There, she worked for the BBC on arts production and news coverage for the World Service and also worked regularly with Alistair Cooke on his Letter from America radio broadcasts.

Mrs Robson studied arts management at the State University of New York and became involved with the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts, near New York.

In 2002, she took up a three-year contract with Gateshead's Sage music centre.

She said: "Working on such an exciting project was a great privilege.

"The North-East has a wealth of cultural institutions all playing an important part in the economy of the region.

"As well as being valuable resources for residents, they are a great draw for visitors.

"The Bowes Museum plays its part in this and is a fantastic destination for a day out as well as continuing to serve the local community."