ONE of the most memorable scenes in cinema history was recreated in the North-East yesterday to raise money for charity.

At high noon, in the shadow of Durham Cathedral, nine athletes took their marks for a challenge straight from the Oscar-winning Chariots of Fire.

In the 1981 blockbuster, made by Sunderland University chancellor Lord Puttnam, Olympic hopefuls raced around the quadrangle of Oxford University, trying to complete the 400m course before the final chime of the noon bells.

And yesterday, the award-winning theme music from the famous film, written by Vangelis, rang out around Palace Green as crowds gathered to see if the famous feat could be achieved in Durham.

The region's first npower dash was started by Durham County Cricket Club captain Jonathan Lewis and Keith Willans, chairman of St Cuthbert's Hospice, which was chosen as the day's beneficiary.

It was preceded by the npower family 5k run from Prebends Bridge, in which a prize was awarded for the best fancy dress, and a pedal power challenge with npower donating £2 to St Cuthbert's Hospice for every kilometre completed.

Spectators at Palace Green included those dressed as monks and nuns, and children were invited to have their faces painted.

But the competitors' attitude was deadly serious, with a trophy up for grabs for the winner.

Among those taking part were accomplished athletes including English schools 400m champion Craig Glanville and North-East county 400m schools champion Chris Campbell, both from Gateshead Harriers, as well as Durham Harriers' Peter Coates, Steve Clifford and Shaun Moralee.

Runner Tom Curry, president of Durham University's athletics union, had a special reason for competing, as his grandfather Peter took part in the 3,000m steeplechase in the 1948 Olympics and was involved in the making of Chariots of Fire.

But the honours went to 1,500m runner and winner of this year's Lichfield dash James Thie, from Cardiff Athletics Club, who completed the two-lap course in 51.6 seconds, just beating the final midday chime at 52 seconds.

He said: "It was superb. The race is more about strength than speed, and it's a nice change from middle- distance running. It was great to beat the chimes."

It is planned to make the Durham dash an annual event.