THREE pictures found in a secret hiding place during the restoration of a North-East castle are to be returned to their home.

In the summer, workers converting Wilton Castle, ICI's former social club at Redcar, Teesside, came across the pictures in a hidden turret room. The room had an entrance which had been boarded up and wallpapered over.

The paintings created excitement in the art world because they appeared to be more than 200 years old.

They have since been independently valued and housing developer Wimpey Homes has decided that they should not be sold at auction, but should stay in the castle.

John Foster, special projects manager at Wimpey Homes, said: "We had a local auction house and an independent picture expert from London value the three paintings and, while they do have an inherent market value, none are going to set the art world alight.

"We've therefore decided they hold a greater historical and sentimental value to us as a company and to our Wilton Castle development and so will not offer them for sale."

The pictures will now be reframed and hung in the castle's main hall once the restoration is complete.

Wimpey Homes is converting the Grade Two listed castle and stable block into 21 apartments, six flats and 18 houses.