AN exhibition to mark the 200th anniversary of the abolition of slavery opens at Stockton's Preston Hall Museum at the weekend.

Slavery here! is the culmination of a six-month project by Tees Valley communities, museums, archives and schools.

Volunteers have researched the hidden history of the slave trading past of Teesside, re-discovering the role of Stockton as a centre of sugar refinement.

The exhibition includes a new film, called Manacles and Money, documenting contemporary attitudes to slavery.

Councillor Mary Womphrey, Stockton Borough Council's cabinet member for arts, leisure and culture, said: "This exhibition will offer a real insight into the slave trade history and will explore what slavery means to people today.

"There will be the opportunity for people to hold and feel manacles and leg irons, as well as view the powerful documentary."