HEXHAM Abbey and the Queen’s Hall Arts Centre will be among popular landmarks across the North-East turning purple to mark World Polio Day.

Tynedale Rotary is partnering with local organisations to floodlight buildings in purple today (October 24).

The move is to highlight rotary’s role in the ongoing fight against a disease which still paralyses and kills.

Tynedale president Michael Gibbney, of Wylam, said: ‘Polio is a paralysing and potentially fatal disease.

"Many in Tynedale will have memories of suffering from polio themselves or of seeing family members suffering, but in some parts of the world, it is still a disease that threatens mainly children under five.

"Though polio is not curable, it can be prevented by vaccines and unlike most diseases, it can be eradicated.

"By lighting up the Abbey and Queen’s Hall in Hexham, we hope to draw attention to the ongoing campaign to rid the world of polio, and we’re very grateful to them for taking part so enthusiastically in this vital project."

The Rotary Polio Plus program was the first initiative to aim for global polio eradication by vaccinating children on a massive scale, said Rotary North-East district governor Alan Cartwright.

"Rotary International has committed to raising $50 million per year for polio eradication. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation matches that 2-to-1. These funds provide operational support, medical workers, laboratory equipment and educational materials."

Information on World Polio Day and the ongoing campaign is available on the Rotary North East website and social media.

Members of Tynedale Rotary will be outside Hexham Abbey when the floodlights are shining purple to explain more about it's role in working to help eradicate the scourge of polio.