AN appeal has been launched to give a town's history a three-dimensional setting.

Iron stone struck in the hills above Eston sparked a boom time for Teesside in the 19th Century.

Eston-born film maker Craig Hornby has teamed up with the University of Teesside's Virtual Reality Centre to digitally re-create 3D scenes of two former landmarks.

He is appealing for people to come forward who may have photographs of the remote miners' village of Pit-Top on Barnaby Moor and the Eston Picture Hall, known as Maude Allans.

Mr Hornby said: "Virtual reality is a unique educational tool that will add a whole new dimension to the film, therefore any photo of any part of the village will be useful. It is like putting a jigsaw together.

"The more visuals we get, the closer we get an accurate and complete 3D image. Unfortunately, there seems to be very little photographic evidence surviving.

"Photos of the cinema are even more scarce, which is surprising as the place was Eston's main attraction by far in the 1920s.

For more information, visit website www.pancrack.co.uk or call (01642) 861642.