BBC launches local archives

The BBC has opened its archive of news clips from Devon, Cornwall, Lincolnshire and Humberside, so that users can freely download and keep more than 100 clips for their own personal use.

The released clips feature key moments in local history such as dramatic scenes from the miners' strikes, incredible shots of the Torrey Canyon disaster, shocking images of devastating flooding in Boscastle and Lincolnshire, and emotional scenes as Falklands soldiers come home to their families.

The archive also contains interviews with celebrities such as The Beatles and key political figures such as Harold Wilson and Arthur Scargill. There are also nostalgic gems like footage of holiday makers at a Torquay holiday camp, stockbrokers - complete with bowler hats and rolled umbrellas - skating to work during the big freeze of 1963 and a 1964 TV report about the new fashion for boys to have long hair!

This footage is not just available to watch - under the terms of the Creative Archive Licence users in Devon, Cornwall, Lincolnshire and Humberside can download, edit and share the clips so that the key images of the past can be rediscovered and reshaped by a new generation.

Craig Henderson, from BBC Nations and Regions said: "We're opening up a really rich part of our archives for people to see, and share for the first time, so it's quite a moment. I think people will love downloading film of the Beatles visiting Plymouth in the 1960s - first for a concert and then as part of filming for their movie Magical Mystery Tour. The material covered in the pilot will undoubtedly bring back a lot of local memories, and be a great source of learning for youngsters."

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