THOUSANDS of people queued at the weekend for the last chance to see the Lindisfarne Gospels on their brief return home to the North-East.

The treasured manuscript, penned by monks 1,300 years ago, was on loan to Newcastle's Laing Art Gallery from the British Library.

Gallery heads estimate that more than 200,000 people have seen the gospels' exhibition which ran from October 7 until yesterday.

The last time the gospels were in the region about 80,000 people came to see them.

Attendant Paul Mayne said: "It has been very, very busy and from Tuesday to Saturday we have had 19,400 visitors. With Sunday's figures we are looking at 20,500 to 20,600 visitors.

"We are very pleased with the gospels. With a few exceptional days, we have averaged 2,500 to 3,000 visitors.

"It has been a very successful exhibition and people, by and large, have been extremely happy and overawed by what they have seen."

The gospels were making only their third visit to the North-East since they were seized from Durham Cathedral by Henry VIII in 1536, during the dissolution of the monasteries.

Campaigners in the region have long fought for their return.