Redcar historian Vera Robinson has praised residents for raising more than £5,000 towards the repair of the town clock.

Mrs Robinson, a Freeman of Redcar, asked the public to buy a clock brick for £1. The appeal has raised £5,746 in only three months.

She said: "Well done Redcar. I'm very, very pleased. I was hoping to raise £5,000 and we have achieved that. Everyone is determined we will not lose the clock."

The money, which will be matched by Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council, will be put in a bank account set up by the Cleveland Buildings Preservation Trust, while a full report into 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, have 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 are delighted with the support of the community for the first phase of the fundraising. However, the fundraising has not finished just because the public appeal has ended."

More events are planned, including a £1,000 pledge from High Street busker Norman Evans and a concert by the Middleton Festival Choir at the United Reformed Church hall, Station Road, Redcar on Friday, June 6, at 7.30pm. Tickets are available from libraries and cost £3, and £2.50 concessions.

The King Edward VII Memorial Clock is a Grade II-listed building, one of only 15 buildings of special architectural or historic interest in Redcar.