THE Whitehaven News photo archive has been used to bolster Whitehaven Town Council's coronation photo exhibition, which will run in the first week of May.

The exhibition will largely feature Royal visits to the town, but despite pleas on social media, the council were coming up short in their search for images of the Princess Royal's visit to Whitehaven in 2001.

Thankfully, a trawl of the Whitehaven News archive has saved the day and the town council are delighted.

Whitehaven Town Council mayor Charles Maudling said: "I am absolutely delighted with this and so grateful to the Whitehaven News for taking the time to help up.

"The photos they have sent over are superb and now we’ve gone from not having any to being spoiled for choice."

Deputy Lieutenant for Cumbria and co-organiser of the exhibition with the Town Council, Gerard Richardson MBE: "This is a cracking result. The Whitehaven News often stepped in to help when we were organising Festivals and other events in the past and this is one of those just in time scenarios as we were being faced with leaving that visit out altogether."

The exhibition runs from May 1 until May 8 in a marquee in St Nicholas Gardens.