CHURCHES in North Yorkshire have benefited from more than £20,000 to boost their tourism potential.

The money has come from various sources, including the National Lottery, the Countryside Agency and Yorkshire Forward.

Projects include church trails, leaflets, guidebooks, audio-visual presentations and displays, as well as improvements to lighting and signs.

One beneficiary is St Gregory's Church in Bedale, which used its grant for a story trail, designed and made by the congregation, to introduce children to stained glass, wall paintings, carvings, tapestries and sculpture in the church.