A COLLECTION of photos chronicling life in a pit village after the war has been compiled following a school reunion.

Brian Crampton, from Darlington, and Gordon Luke, from Brandon, decided to put together the book about Bearpark following a reunion of the village’s school.

Made up of around 170 photos, the book, entitled The Bearpark Pride’s war babies, features images from between 1940 and 1975.

Mr Crampton said: “When we had the reunion about six or seven years ago we asked people to bring photos along.

“One night we thought it would be nice to make something so people could have them forever, so that’s what we did.

“We hope it’s something people would like to see.”

It features pictures from the school, of the colliery and other shots of village life.

The friends, who left the school in 1959, have held several fundraising events for the school which have helped pay for the book.

It will be available to buy at a launch event, which takes place on Saturday, May 26, at Bearpark’s workingmen’s club, from 2pm-5pm.

It will be sold for £5, which will cover production costs.