PEOPLE could have been forgiven for believing they had stepped back in time when a newly-refurbished park went Victorian.

Ropner Park, in Stockton, resembled its former self on Sunday when a fundraising Victorian Gala Day attracted the crowds.

Members of the Saltburn Victorian Society turned out in costume for the event, and there were stalls, entertainment and a pony and trap offering jaunts around the park.

The Friends of Ropner Park organised the event to help raise money to run the new caf pavillion, which is due to open later this summer, but they also hoped to raise the park's profile.

The park is having a £3.4m refurbishment, and the first phase is nearing completion.

Craig Adamson, secretary of the friends group, said the development was only a third of the way through, but it was already a vast improvement.

The replica gates have been installed, and a bandstand - an exact copy of the original - will be ready in September.

He said: "Our role, as friends of the park, is to try to encourage people to go back into the park because it really is going to be something special.

"We organise events every few months and, once the bandstand is in place, we hope to throw back to the past by organising different musicians to play there."

A children's play area is about to open this summer, along with the restored fountain.

Work on the lake and landscaping is continuing.