COUNTY Durham volunteers are helping to ensure that visitors to the Mining Art Gallery in Bishop Auckland leave feeling inspired by what they have seen and learnt.

Many of the team of 50 draw on their own memories and family connections to offer a personal understanding of the mining world.

They also listen to visitors’ own recollections of life in mining communities

Volunteer, Susan Graydon, of Coundon, said: “It is a privilege to hear their stories about their lives, their parents’ lives and the areas where they worked and lived.

"Both my grand-dads worked in the mines, and when my parents came to visit, the paintings brought back memories, so the gallery has kept me in touch with my own past which has been quite humbling.”

The volunteers had three months of training before taking up their roles, attending lectures and presentations and visiting museums.

The gallery celebrates the creative abilities of mining artists and the close-knit communities of the pit villages and towns.

Created by the Auckland Project in partnership with Dr Robert McManners and Gillian Wales, it has attracted more than 4,000 visitors since the launch in October.

The gallery is supported by the Gemini Collection, County Durham Community Foundation, Mr McManners and Stefa McManners, Catherine Cookson Charitable Trust, Sir James Knott Trust, Banks Community Fund, Bishop Auckland and Shildon Area Action Partnership and the Sir John Priestman Charity Trust

The gallery is open daily from 10am-4pm.