A WINDFALL of £2.7m is to be spent on making a town safer and more attractive.

The money comes from town hall savings and backdated Government money after Whitehall miscalculated how much funding Middlesbrough was due, because of flawed population figures.

The financial boost is being spent under the title of Town Pride, on improvements to residents' well-being, quality of life and sprucing up surroundings.

Councillor Nicky Walker, Middlesbrough Council's executive member for resources, said: "This is an amazing opportunity for Middlesbrough. The extra money will allow us to make many small but significant improvements to the town.

"It's not every day that the council can deliver this amount of cash to spend on enhancing the local environment and quality of life.''

Proposals include extending Middlesbrough's CCTV coverage and improvements to support services for elderly and vulnerable people.

There are plans to repair and replace grass verges, install extra floral displays, upgrade playgrounds, public areas around shopping centres and along main routes to work.

There will be tidying up, particularly around schools.

Coun Walker said: "The council has put forward a very creative range of Town Pride proposals. We want to ensure that they are implemented as soon as possible, and that local people see that their council really is making a difference in their town."

A spending programme will be considered by the council's executive at a meeting on Tuesday.

Among other ideas are makeovers for reception areas in youth and community centres and equipping the mobile library with satellite technology to offer borrowers Internet access.