Redcar historian Vera Robinson MBE has praised townsfolk for raising more than £5,000 in a bid to get the town's King Edward VII Memorial clock ticking again.

Vera, a Freeman of Redcar, asked the public to 'buy a clock brick' for £1 and has raised £5,746 in just three months.

She said: "Well done Redcar! I'm very, very pleased. I was hoping to raise £5,000 and we've achieved that. Everyone's determined we won't lose the clock."

The money, which will be matched by Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council, will now be placed in a special account set up by the Cleveland Buildings Preservation Trust, while a full report on the cost of repairing both the clock mechanism and the fabric of the building is compiled.

The Friends of Redcar Town Clock, founded by Mrs Robinson, also secured £11,000 from the West Redcar Single Regeneration Budget's Community Investment Fund. That money will be used to fund the appointment of a surveyor whose work is likely to be completed by the end of the year.

John Partridge, Redcar's town centre manager, said: "We're delighted with the support of the community for the first phase of the fund-raising. However the money raising hasn't finished just because the public appeal has ended."

More events are planned including a £1,000 pledge from High Street busker Norman Evans MBE.