AERIAL photographs have been discovered which show how a North-East town looked nearly 60 years ago.

For more than 40 years, the photographs of Darlington from the air have been locked away in a filing cabinet in the basement of the town hall.

However, following their recent discovery, the council is making them available for public viewing and as an educational resource.

The photographs were taken by the RAF in 1948 and give an overview of the urban area of Darlington.

They were taken as part of an early attempt to provide aerial photographic coverage of the whole of Britain.

The council has been in possession of the photographs since the 1950s.

When the authority moved to its current location at the then new town hall, in the 1960s, the photographs were placed in the filing cabinet, where they were forgotten about until recently when they where discovered by planning officer George Brook.

The hard copies of the photographs were sent away to a specialist firm, which has merged them all into one giant electronic image. The end result is now available for viewing at the town hall.

Schools, history groups and anyone who is interested in seeing how Darlington has changed over the past 58 years are welcome to take a look.

Lee Vasey, Darlington Borough Council's cabinet member for leisure services, said: "This is a fantastic opportunity for people to get an insight into how Darlington looked just after the end of the Second World War.

"I hope as many interested parties as possible take the chance to come and study these fascinating images."

Anyone interested in taking a look at the photographs can contact Mr Brook on (01325) 388623.