Volunteers wanted for Stoke-on-Trent pottery bottle oven hunt

The two demolished bottle ovens once stood in the courtyard at Middleport Pottery

Residents in Stoke-on-Trent are being offered the chance to help unearth some of the city's lost bottle oven history.

Bottle-shaped kilns in the city operated until the mid-20th Century and were used by the pottery industry.

At one time, three stood in a row at Middleport Pottery, in Burslem, but two were demolished in about 1974, Stoke-on-Trent City Council said.

The local authority is helping to run an archaeological dig in September and wants volunteers to help.

The demolished kilns stood in the courtyard of the pottery factory and the council said it hoped the dig would uncover their foundations and reveal how they were built and operated.

Councillor Duncan Walker said the aim was to preserve the remains for future generations.

"The findings from this dig will help us to understand more about the city's heritage and our industrial past," he said.

Any remains would be preserved for the future, councillor Duncan Walker said

The excavation will take place in two sessions, one from Tuesday to Friday and the second from 18-22 September, the council said.

Volunteers would have to be aged over 18 and would use hand tools in the dig as well as help process and record what was found, it added.

Places are limited to 10 people on each day and anyone interested is being asked to contact the council here.