A FORGOTTEN memorial to a town's war heroes has turned up more than 50 years after it was taken away to be cleaned.

The war memorial in Loftus, east Cleveland, used to hang on the side of the town hall. It was put up in 1919, just after the end of the First World War.

It was taken down in 1949 because the wood was rotting and it was felt the memorial needed cleaning.

But instead of being refurbished and restored to its former glory, it remained in a packing box and was moved from place to place throughout Loftus, until it resurfaced eventually in the Old Chapel, at the cemetery on Whitby Road.

Councillor Eric Jackson, Loftus councillor and deputy mayor of Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council, is delighted that the memorial has been found again.

"It is an old relic of Loftus's history and I am really pleased it has turned up, because it was the first war memorial Loftus had," he said.

"The names on the memorial were taken down and included on the cenotaph in the town square."

Councillor Jackson is trying to find out who owns the memorial, but in the meantime has taken responsibility for it.