A LOCAL historian has completed a marathon six-year labour of love to help shed light on the past.

Jim Sedgwick, a member of the Northallerton and District Local History Society, has been working in partnership with the local library and information service.

He has laboriously transcribed the almost-indecipherable original handwriting on the census returns from the Northallerton area from 1841 to 1901 into clear typescript.

Jim was inspired to complete the painstaking project by retired library assistant Jo Stikans.

The early census records are invaluable for family historians tracing their roots, and are also a primary resource for local historians.

They provide the base from which to start producing a village history as they contain details of relationships and occupations - often even quoting the number of employees in a business.

There is now a census folder for all villages from the A1 in the west to Swainby and Snilesworth in the east and from the River Tees in the north to Pickhill and Boltby in the south.

The transcripts and the originals are filed in the same folder for easy cross-reference and all are available to the public free of charge in Northallerton library.

North Yorkshie County Council's executive member for community services, Chris Metcalfe, said: "This has been a labour of love that should inspire us all.

"It will be of real benefit to everyone who wants to know more about their roots. We owe a real debt of gratitude to Jim Sedgwick for this."

And local history researcher and teacher Jennifer Allison added: "This is proving a really wonderful asset for local historians.

"Not only is it easy to read, but things leap off the page at you. You can see streets and districts at a glance. I am sure we will see students in the library with a whole table of folders in front of them."