CASH from the Heritage Lottery Fund is boosting plans to preserve and improve a historic cemetery on Teesside.

Middlesbrough Council has been awarded £596,500 to help meet the cost of the £1.2m restoration programme at the Victorian Linthorpe Cemetery.

The project was launched yesterday and work, which is due to start in the autumn, includes turning the old prayer house into an education centre, conserving the mortuary chapel, creating exhibition space, restoring the most significant funeral monuments and repairing paths.

Councillor Bob Kerr, the council's executive member for the environment, said: "Linthorpe is Middlesbrough's oldest working cemetery and its history is linked to the growth and development of the town.

"We want to make visitors more aware of its historic connections and its environment - it was declared a nature reserve in 2003 and is one OF central Middlesbrough's most important green spaces."

Keith Bartlett, the heritage fund's regional manager for the North-East, said "We're delighted to be able to support the local community in Linthorpe with this fantastic project.

"The cemetery is a vital link to the heritage of the area and this funding will ensure that it's safeguarded for future generations."