Stockton's Ropner Park awarded grade II listed status

Many of the park's original features including the fountain, lake and bandstand were restored

A park in Stockton has been awarded Grade II listed status following a £3.5m 10-year restoration project.

Ropner Park has been given listed status on the Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England from English Heritage.

The award comes after the revamp, which was completed in 2008, saw the park returned to its former glory.

Brian Scrafton, chairman of Friends of Ropner Park, said he was "pleased" it had been given national recognition.

English Heritage said the park "deserved" the status as it was a "good example" of a late Victorian municipal park and had remained "essentially unchanged" from its original layout of 1893.