Leeds may be stranded midway between the North Sea and the Irish Sea but that does not stop it wanting to build a lighthouse in the city centre. The red-and-white striped tower will project light shows onto the clouds — and, if all goes well, guide in tourists when it becomes European capital of culture 2023.

Cluny Macpherson, chief officer for culture at Leeds city council, said:“There is something quirky and amusing about having a lighthouse in what is self- evidently a land-locked city. It is a signal and suggests safety for travellers.”

For Leeds, it is an opportunity to claim for itself a famous structure built by one of its favourite sons. John Smeaton, canal builder and civil engineer, constructed the third Eddystone lighthouse