A SERIES of four Victorian waterfalls will be saved by restoration worth almost £50,000.

The waterfalls, one of which is 50ft tall, are in the Grade II-listed Whitehall Park, Darwen, and are collapsing as the stones around them crumble away.

The waterfalls link into three ponds in a deep valley and were the main feature of the park when it opened in 1879.

Funding of £47,400 means the trees obscuring the view of the waterfalls can be cleared, the three ponds below can be cleaned of silt, stonework can be repaired and an old collapsed bridge replaced.

The Whitehall Park Supporters' Group applied for the grant over a year ago and after resubmitting the application with more information, English Heritage gave the restoration the green light.

John Starbuck, chairman of the group, said the group was delighted.

"We're glad it's been approved because the application is a piece of local work," he said.

"It's going towards restoring a series of waterfalls in the top left hand corner of the park. The bottom of the waterfalls is in a bad state and we are going to have a new bridge."

The group of around 30 people formed in 2003 to restore the 16-acre park, which has access to Darwen Moors.

Mr Starbuck said the restoration and plans to produce a book next year were a tribute to the Victorian creators.

He said: "We are going to report the history of the park as a tribute to our ancestors who did all this work. The handbook will be about the history of the park and the waterfalls."