PRINCE Andrew, the Duke of York, visited the North-East yesterday to see the Lindisfarne Gospels - with tourism bosses hoping he will be the first of many tourists to see the manuscript.

Northumbria Tourist Board is hoping the gospels draw the same intense interest from the public as during a previous stay in the region in 1996.

Penned by monks on Holy Island 1,300 years ago, the lavishly illustrated volume is on a three-month loan from the British Library at Newcastle's Laing Art Gallery.

Campaigners have long called for gospels to be returned to their original home in the North-East.

Val Lowther, of Northumbria Tourist Board, said: "The last time they came to the region they generated a lot of interest, and we are hoping they will have the same affect again in attracting more visitors into the area.

"The fact that they now have turning-the-pages-technology is great because people will be able to experience more of the gospels."

As part of a whistle-stop tour of the North-East, Prince Andrew opened a pioneering community health scheme on Sunderland's Pennywell estate.

Residents helped set up, and are responsible for running, the £750,000 centre, which was partly funded by Government and National Lottery cash.

The project has provided people on Pennywell with their first doctor.

The prince was keen to learn if other needy estates in the region could benefit from similar community schemes, which provide health care, child care and training facilities for adults.

Dr Will Richardson, the estate's GP, said: "This scheme could be used elsewhere. We had a group of people from Sheffield here the other day and there has been a lot of interest from similar estates.

"It will take ten years to turn around the problems of the area, but one of the biggest problems is the sheer pace with which the place is developing.

"We have up to 2,500 patients and it's still going strong."

Before leaving Pennywell to visit a training helpline centre in Sunderland, Prince Andrew was presented with a paperweight by eight-year-old Peter Cook.

It was a proud moment for the boy's parents, Linda and Peter, both 31, who lost three-year-old daughter Stephanie in a road accident, in May last year.

Linda said: "I'm really delighted for him. He's had a bad year, but he didn't let us down."

The prince also called at Ryton Football Club, near Gateshead, to watch a coaching session and five-a-side match