When a Darlington lake was drained to see what lay in the depths

THE draining of a lake in a North East park was nearing completion in October 2004.

Specialist equipment was set up in South Park, Darlington, to remove 400 truckloads of silt to a landfill site.

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The work was part of an ongoing £3.9m project to restore the area.

The Quakers Acres Metal Detecting Club was on site looking for hidden treasures of the lake as they emerged.

They discovered a Celtic ring, which was thought to be gold, but not valuable.

Other hidden treasures were thought to have been there for more than a century.

The search was on for a brass statue of a steam plough erected in honour of its inventor, John Fowler, which was thought to by lying in the depths of the lake.

It was donated to the park by industrialist Henry Pease, but disappeared in 1979.

Councillor Lee Vasey, cabinet member for leisure at Darlington Borough Council, said: "This is another exciting stage in the restoration of South Park and I would urge people to come along and take a look for themselves at the improvements that are being made."

Items that are found in the lake were kept by the council to be used as exhibits in the park.

A football team of tradesmen fed up with their cramped changing rooms decided to build themselves new facilities.

For years, players at Pelton Royal and Ancient Order of Buffaloes FC had to put up with a small shack and showers that only worked occasionally.

Rather than wait for outside help, they aimed to combine their skills to build a new structure at their ground in High Handenhold, near Chester-le-Street, County Durham.

Club secretary John Blythe said: "It is literally a case of Do It Yourself.

"We sat down and realised one day that we have all the necessary skills in the club to do the job ourselves. All we need is the money for the materials."

The interior was looked after by centre half Alan Forsyth, a carpenter, and manager Robert Richardson, a painter and decorator.

"It is a real team effort, " said Mr Blythe.