MILLIONS of gallons of water are being gradually pumped into a lake forming the centrepiece of a project to restore one of the region's finest Victorian Parks.

The move to refill Saltwell Park lake in Gateshead, has come as a welcome relief to several families of ducks.

The construction of a replica of the original Victorian post and chain fence will complete the restoration work later in the summer.

A reed bed will also be created to help filter the water and keep it clear, and to provide a suitable habitat for birds.

The work is part of a £9.6m restoration of Saltwell Park. The three-year programme will return the park's landscape to the way it would have looked at the end of the 19th Century.