LOCAL history enthusiasts have produced a booklet of old photographs that show how their village has changed.

Leadgate History Society’s Swansong Leadgate is the last in a series of 16 publications that have drawn on an archive of 650 photographs that have now all been used.

The society started chronicling the village near Consett in 2000 and the latest effort includes a feature on the landmark Villa Real bridge, which is due for demolition.

The bridge was built to carry the road over the railway line in 1896 to replace a level crossing and has been in service ever since.

Society secretary Bill Stockdale said: “For the last three or four years it has looked increasingly dilapidated and it is coming down in January.

“There are a couple of pictures of the bridge as it used to be and how it is now, propped up with scaffold.

“There is a history of medicine in Leadgate, we have tried to list every doctor who has practised here since 1860 onwards.

“There are photographs of how Leadgate used to be and how it has changed.

“We have tried to build up a picture of changes that have happened in the community we live in because we like the community we lived in.”

In addition to the series of 16 booklets, the society has also produced books on the Coronation in 1953 and on the railway lines that used to run from the village. The new book is available from the DIY shop in Front Street, Leadgate, and costs £2.50.