PEOPLE in Hartlepool can get a sneak preview of the £1.9m sports centre on the Headland this week.

The centre, which is being built on empty land behind the Town Hall, in Middlegate, will not open until early in the New Year.

However, people are invited to drop in on Thursday, between noon and 7pm, to see how the facilities are shaping up.

When complete, the centre will feature a sports hall with four badminton-sized courts, a fitness training room, changing and toilet facilities, and a creche.

Hartlepool Borough Council has provided £492,000 towards the construction of the sports centre.

Sport England provided £530,000 and the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund supplied £412,500.

The remainder came from the North Hartlepool Partnership, with a grant of £400,000, and from the European Regional Development Fund, providing £122,500.

Colin Reid, Hartlepool council's acting cultural heritage and grants officer, said: "Although the sports centre won't open for business until the end of January, we thought it would be great to end the year on a high note by giving people a preview of the centre."