THE role of snipers in the First World War will be explained in a talk at the weekend.

Martin Pegler, senior curator of weapons at the Royal Armouries, Leeds, will give the talk, Sniping in the Great War, at the dli, formerly the DLI Museum and Durham Art Gallery, Aykley Heads, Du-ham, on Saturday.

Members of the audience will be able to handle some of the rifles used by the sharpshooters.

"Everyone knows the story of how no British soldier in the trenches would ever be the third man to light a cigarette from one match because by then the German sniper, alerted by the flaring match and the first cigarette, would be ready to shoot and kill,'' said Mr Pegler.

"I'll be looking at the history of sniping during the Great War, who were the snipers, how sniping developed, the technology of the sniping rifle and sight, and also at the way snipers were trained to undertake their lethal and very dangerous work."

Tickets for the talk, which starts at 2pm, cost £3.50 for adults, £2.50 for concessions, and £1.50 for season ticket holders.