A new marketing strategy has paid off, say cathedral chiefs, which has seen the number of paying visitors increase by 21%.

Specialist tours have also been introduced to attract more groups to the famous cathedral.

The accounts for the previous year to March 2002 have shown a budget surplus of £75,000 and consolidated accounts of £450,000.

Bucking trends

"It is something we have been working hard to achieve for the past two or three years," said Roy Bentham, chief executive of the cathedral.

"We changed what was on offer here and had more events like family days and fun days.

"Instead of providing standard tours we have provided lots of specialist tours."

He said about 120,000 people had paid to see the cathedral during the last financial year.

He said up to another 40,000 would have visited the cathedral without needing to pay.

He said the increased numbers bucked regional and national trends.

"We are working hard again hoping for it to continue," he said.