THE Dean of York took to the roof of the Minster for a very special service.

The Very Reverend Vivienne Faull, wearing a hard hat and presiding from the top of the scaffold on the cathedral's East front, dedicated the new statue of St Peter with incense and Holy water.

The Dean dedicated the statue as the other clergy, choir and congregation below watched on screens on College Green.

She then returned to ground level to continue the St Peter's Day Choral Evensong service inside the Minster.

Deal Faull said: "York Minster's full name is the Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of St Peter in York, so it was an important day for the Minster's patron saint, and the perfect day to officiate over the dedication of the statue of him that sits as the head of one of the most important stained glass windows in the world.

"When work started on the East front, all that remained of the original statue was an unidentifiable lump of stone, so it is a testament to the hard work of the theologians, historians, designers and carvers that we can now see such a beautiful carving in place, where it will remain looking out over the city for many centuries to come."