THE £4.4m makeover of a Middlesbrough park continued yesterday with the unveiling of a replica bandstand.

The bandstand is near the fountain at the centre of Albert Park and was opened by the chairman of Middlesbrough Council, Councillor Peter Porley.

The replica bandstand took Heritage Engineering, of Glasgow, several months to complete. It cost £150,000 and was built from manufacturer's designs and templates.

The park's makeover is being funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, Northumbrian Water Environmental Trust and Middlesbrough Council, with support from the Friends of Albert Park.

Councillor David Budd, the council's executive member for culture, said: "It is very satisfying to see these main features coming back into the park.

"I would like to pay tribute to the skill and commitment of all the craftspeople involved in giving us a park we can rightly take pride in."

The council's landscape manager Paul Rabbitts said: "The park clock and gates are away for restoration at the moment, and some of the stonework features are also being refurbished.

"We are well on course for completing the park restoration this summer."

The original bandstand was built in 1871 at the foundry of George Smith and Co of Glasgow. It was demolished in the early 1960s.