Over 5,500 pictures from the archives of New Mills Local History Society and New Mills Heritage Centre have been digitised, and can be viewed by the public on computers in New Mills Library and the Heritage Centre.

The high resolution images, which date back to the 1880s, cover a wide variety of subjects including individuals, buildings and streets, groups of people, family groups, outdoor activities, school classes, transport and industry, and wartime.

Derek Brumhead, co-ordinator of the Picture New Mills project, said the launch last Friday was the culmination of fours years' hard work.

"This is a fantastic historical resource, and we are very pleased and very proud to have been able to achieve it," he said.

"The big problem we have had with this wonderful collection of photographs was that people couldn't get access to it.

"Now, the possibilities are endless."

People can browse the archive using keyword lists, view the descriptive data, which has been compiled by members of the Local History Society, and run off low resolution prints for personal use.

The project also includes the digitisation of a unique collection of audio tapes of oral history which has been built up over the years.

Funding for the project has been provided by a £40,700 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

* The images will soon be available on a new website which is being constructed, www.picturenewmills.org.uk, which will also include an electronic ordering service for high resolution images.