One of Tyneside's oldest landmarks is to get a 21st Century facelift.

Newcastle's 150-year-old High Level Bridge is to be floodlit.

More than �250,000 is being spent on highlighting the Grade 1 listed landmark which spans the River Tyne between Gateshead and Newcastle.

It joins the Tyne and Millennium bridges and will have 300 high intensity lamps installed.

Three hundred lamps will light up the bridge

The bridge, designed by Robert Stephenson, will be lit from within its road and walkways and from the outside to provide a dramatic night time spectacle.

Newcastle and Gateshead councils, the Railway Heritage Trust, Electrical Contractors Association, Nexus, Go North East and Northern Electric and Gas have all helped to pay for the project.

Newcastle city council leader, Tony Flynn said: "The High Level Bridge has its own distinctive style and architecture which were simply disappearing under cover of darkness.

"With both riverside frontages becoming increasingly popular, we want to ensure the impact on visitors is equally as stunning during darkness."

There are separate plans which could also see the river's listed Swing Bridge illuminated.

Newcastle architect Jim Coulson, secretary of the Robert Stephenson Trust, said: "Stephenson was a Victorian hero and the High Level Bridge is an outstanding masterpiece."

The bridge, which now carries 10,000 vehicles a day, was opened by Queen Victoria before a crowd of 60,000 spectators.