AN IMAGE of Castle Howard has been chosen to promote Britain in a new national campaign to pull in more foreign tourists.

The UKOK campaign aims to reverse the losses borne by the tourism industry last year as a result of both of foot and mouth disease and September 11.

The British Tourist Authority (BTA) is urging people to send postcards to relatives and friends overseas to persuade them to make a visit, especially in this Golden Jubilee year - and one of the photographs chosen shows Castle Howard in Ryedale.

The postcard promotion is part of a £40 million campaign to boost British tourism which is to receive up to half its funding from Government.

Richard Kemp, head of visitor services at Castle Howard, said: "We're delighted to be involved. We need to make sure the world knows we're open for business. We're a member of lots of tourist organisations and we give them our image to promote Britain if it's appropriate.

"Castle Howard is a world class attraction within the world class attraction that is North Yorkshire."

Anyone asking for a set of postcards will also receive a copy of a glossy brochure called Hidden Britain, which contains sections extolling the delights of York, Whitby, Helmsley, Pickering, Rievaulx Abbey and Fountains Abbey.

Lesley Wragge, of the York-based Yorkshire Tourist Board, said the BTA had received help from the board in developing its campaign. "We do really need to be getting in there and making use of this campaign," she said.

She said ten per cent of visitors to Yorkshire came from overseas and this percentage was higher for York. Overseas visitors accounted for 20 per cent of tourism income. There had been a loss of £503 million in tourism income in the months March to August alone in Yorkshire last year, compared with a total spend by tourists of £1,950 million in the whole of 2000.

People who send off for a postcard pack can enter a prize draw to win two free flights to Britain for friends or relatives abroad. Telephone 0844 477 8366 or visit www.visitbritain.com/UKOK

The Howard twins have left York Hospital to be with their mum and dad at Castle Howard.

Merlin and Octavia Howard, a boy and a girl, were born on Sunday, February 3, to Rebecca Howard, around a month prematurely. Mrs Howard, the wife of Castle Howard estate owner Simon Howard, returned home days after the birth, but the twins were kept in to be monitored.

Last week doctors decided they were fit enough to return home.

Octavia weighed in at 5lb 1oz and Merlin at 4lb 10oz.

Mr Howard married Marks & Spencer heiress Rebecca Sieff last year.

Within weeks the couple announced Mrs Howard was pregnant with twins but the sex of the babies was not known until their birth.

The couple are planning to have the babies christened in the chapel at the estate.

Updated: 11:22 Tuesday, February 26, 2002