Angel of the North at 20: When a Shearer shirt helped the angel finally be accepted

It was the moment that one North East icon helped the Angel of the North finally become one.

The statue had arrived in February 1998 and in May of that year Newcastle United had reached the final of the FA Cup.

Ahead of that final, Newcastle supporters planned a stunt to honour their talismanic captain Alan Shearer.

Using catapults and fishing wire they somehow managed to hoist a giant replica of Shearer's number nine Newcastle United shirt onto the Angel.

Antony Gormley is very protective of his work, but even he admitted it was the making of the Angel of the North.

He told ITV Tyne Tees: "It was amazing. That was a baptism, that was real acceptance. And it wasn't like graffiti, this was a carefully made bit of kit that carried the number of the great striker of Newcastle.

"I was very moved. It was extraordinary. It was a very well organised caper.

"I thought it was wonderful and when it ended up on the front of the Telegraph, I thought ‘yes, now the Angel is being accepted’."