TWO landmarks will be illuminated following ceremonies held next week.

Veterans from the armed forces will march to Redcar's Cenotaph on October 5 for a 7.30pm service and switch-on ceremony. On October 6, the pier and cliff lift at Saltburn will be lit just after 7pm.

The cenotaph's lighting, costing £12,250, has been financed through West Redcar Single Regeneration Budget, with a contribution from Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council and Redcar Town Centre Management.

A fog horn will sound at the Saltburn event as the lights are switched on by Friends of Saltburn Pier founder members Norman Bainbridge and Tony Lynn, with a second longer blast when the lights are warmed up and operational.

Six months' work on Saltburn's top promenade, managed by Groundwork South Tees, will get under way in the next few weeks, including the installation of a ramp for wheelchair and pushchair access, fossil gardens with art features, seating, railings and surfacing throughout at a cost of £750,000.

The lighting, which cost £385,000, will see the pier and amusement arcade floodlit, coloured lighting to the tracks of the cliff lift and soft illumination for the chalets.

Borough council cabinet member for economic development Vera Moody said: "This is an excellent regeneration scheme for the council and will be the start of further illuminating lighting projects throughout the rest of the borough, subject to further funding being secured."

The lighting scheme was installed by Bartram Walker, part of the Esh Group, winner of North-East Business of the Year 2003.

The funding for the Saltburn scheme, an element of the Coastal Arc joint initiative between the Redcar and Hartlepool councils, comes from regional development agency One NorthEast through the Tees Valley Partnership, with contributions from the Friends of Saltburn Pier and Saltburn Pier Amusements.