WORK will start in the next few weeks to add more than a thousand names to a memorial for Hartlepool's fallen heroes.

Specially-made bronze plaques listing 1,797 names will be added to those from the First World War already in place, on the town's war memorial, in Victory Square.

The additions will commemorate those who died in the Second World War and subsequent conflicts as well as some people from the First World War who were not already listed on the memorial.

The names were compiled by Hartlepool historian Eddie Bell following years of research.

He said: "Each name on the memorial represents the ultimate sacrifice for freedom.

"I am delighted that the town will now also have a permanent memorial to those townspeople who have given their lives in the service of their country in the years since the end of the First World War."

Mr Bell's research and appeals for information led to families contacting him from around the country as well as from the USA and Australia.

The work on the plaques will start in early May and is expected to take three weeks.

The memorial will be extended with four granite pillars and the 14 new plaques, each measuring 4ft square, will be fixed on to them.

The work has been commissioned by Hartlepool Borough Council, which is funding the work with the Trustees of the Victory Square Appeal Fund who have raised £13,000 for the project.

The memorial will be rededicated at a ceremony on June 16, which the families of those remembered will be invited to attend.