TRANSCO has completed a £5m pipe-laying scheme which unearthed hidden relics of the area's history.

The gas pipeline company has finished the two-year project which involved laying just over 14km of 300mm steel pipe from Kirkleatham to Brotton.

Network manager, Andy Irwin, said: "We had to use the very latest boring equipment to ensure that areas such as the East Cleveland Gorge could be crossed without so much as a blade of grass being disturbed.

"The dramatic 200 metre-wide gorge, which plunges 25 metres from field level, was definitely one of the most difficult challenges we faced on the whole project."

Work on laying the pipe was also halted when engineers uncovered a collection of farmsteads near Brotton dating back more than 2,000 years. A two-week archaeological dig, funded by Transco, was carried out on the site.

A railway signal dating back to the 'Forties, abandoned in a field near Brotton when the Guisborough to Brotton branch line closed in the 'Sixties, was found by engineers and donated to local steam enthusiasts.

Mr Irwin said the work was completed on time despite the worst weather conditions for years and severe flooding in the area.