A makeover has been ordered for scores of a town's older houses.

Homes in Middlesbrough's Bell Street area are to benefit from the facelift.

The improvement area includes houses in Ayresome Green Lane, Ayresome Grange Road and Bell Street.

They have been earmarked for improvements by the West Middlesbrough Neighbourhood Trust, which has been set up to oversee a £52m revamp of a large section of the town.

More than £800,000 is being channelled into the Bell Street project.

Work on houses in the area as part of the scheme includes new boundary walls with wrought iron railings and gates, door canopies and ground floor windows, rainwater gutters and down pipes, re-pointing and repainting, and security measures.

The chairwoman of the trust, Joan Ford, said: "This is an important step forward in our long-term plans for the area and we are pleased that the vast majority of home owners and residents in the Bell Street neighbourhood have been really supportive of the plans.

"Ultimately, we are aiming to really improve the look and feel of the whole neighbourhood through this and our other major housing and environmental developments for west Middlesbrough."

General improvements to the area will include better street lighting, a new parking lay-by, a residents-only parking scheme, landscaping to two green areas and security improvements to rear court areas.

Other initiatives for the town include:

* the £50m redevelopment of the Whinney Banks estate;

* the £250,000 transformation of a derelict site into a community park;

* a study of older housing in West Lane;

* and a £210,000 project to turn a run-down sports area into an all-weather pitch in Newport.

A local company - MMP Construction - has been awarded the contract to carry out the 26-week programme of improvements.