A MEMORIAL to 183 children who perished in a theatre tragedy has been restored to its original state.

On Friday, the Grade-II listed Victoria Hall Memorial will be rededicated in Mowbray Park, Sunderland, where it originally stood.

The white marble statue of a grieving mother cradling her dead child commemorates the youngsters who died after stampeding down a staircase at Sunderland's Victoria Hall to claim free toys, in June 1883.

They had arrived for a show billed as "the greatest treat for children ever given".

But they found their way blocked by a partly bolted, inward opening door. Children tumbled and fell until they lay dead and dying, 6ft deep.

Following the tragedy, Queen Victoria sent a message of sympathy, and new laws requiring outward opening doors in places of public entertainment were drafted.

The statue, which was paid for by public subscription, was erected near the tragedy scene, in Mowbray Park, but was later moved to a local cemetery.

A campaign by Councillor Mary Smith resulted in Sunderland City Council agreeing to spend £63,000 repairing and restoring it to its original home. To mark its return, a rededication service will take place at 10am on Friday.

Local schoolchildren will lay 183 flowers at the statue's base remembering every child who died.

To coincide with the event, a display of the disaster will go on show at Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens.

The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh will view the statue when they officially open the museum, on May 7.