A council has searched its archives to launch a photo exhibition charting more than 150 years of a town's history.

Photos from the Past is an exhibition of pictures from Stockton Borough Council's archives.

The diverse collection, going back to the mid-19th Century, records some historic moments from Stockton's past.

They include a 1941 visit to the town by Winston Churchill, and crowd scenes at the opening of the Victoria Bridge in 1887.

Pictures in the exhibition, at The Green Dragon Museum, in Calverts Lane, belong to the town's museums and library services.

Green Dragon events co-ordinator Kate Mahaffy said: "They transport you briefly into a world where things are familiar, but not quite in the way we know them today."

The exhibition runs until Saturday, March 19. It can also be seen online at http://picture. stockton.gov.uk

Published: 01/02/2005