A LOTTERY bid is being drawn up to improve a system for preserving the past.

Following the abolition of Cleveland County Council in 1996, the Teesside Joint Archives Service was established by the borough councils of Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Stockton to keep records of the area's history.

Between June and August this year alone, it acquired many documents, including records from the Loftus and Staithes Methodist Circuit. It also carried out restoration work.

The Teesside service, in Middlesbrough's Marton Road, is joining forces with others in the region to submit a bid for Heritage Lottery Fund cash. If successful, the money will go towards putting together a teachers' pack to enable children to access the archives