The Derby Evening Telegraph has snapped up the chance to get involved in a new website that brings together a collection of historic pictures of Derbyshire.

The website Picture the Past, was launched by former Government minister Lord Hattersley.

The idea is to conserve the photographic collections of Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire libraries and museums.

Digital copies have been made of thousands of original pictures to make them more accessible to local people and historians from around the world.

The project has been set up by Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire county councils, Derby and Nottingham city councils and the Derby Evening Telegraph.

Users of the site can order photographic quality prints of any picture online, which will then be developed by the Derby Evening Telegraph. The paper has also produced a special supplement to promote the website.

The Heritage Lottery Fund has contributed £370,000 towards the £500,000 cost, with the authorities sharing the remaining cost between them.

So far more than 13,000 pictures can be downloaded on the site but eventually it is hoped that 300,000 images will be available.

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