A CEREMONY was held yesterday to unveil a restored landmark.

The water pump on Hartlepool's Headland has been returned to its traditional position in the middle of the High Street following restoration.

A Grade II-listed pump, it dates from the late 19th Century, but there is evidence that a pump has stood on the site for more than 200 years.

Although the pump itself had not drawn water for many years, in its heyday it provided the only public water supply for the area.

The restoration project began after a survey of the cast iron pump revealed that some panels were cracked and the metal internal supports were corroded, making it unstable.

Its internal supports have been repaired, the cracked panels have been recast and the pump has been repainted.

It has also been reset on a raised sandstone plinth, to give it extra protection.

The plinth was engraved with an extract from a poem written about the pump in 1969 by Headland resident James Coyle.

The restoration was organised by Hartlepool Borough Council, which provided some of the funding with additional finance from the North Hartlepool Partnership and English Heritage.

John Mennear, the council's cultural services officer, said: "The water pump has been a prominent and well loved Headland feature for many, many years, but time and the weather had taken its toll and it was desperately in need of restoration."