WORK to restore the Sunnyhurst Wood pond begins this weekend - thanks to help from the Citizen and Crown Paint community awards.

The project put the Ellis Gibson fish pond back in its original state is costing £11,600 with £3,000 of funding coming from the awards run by the Lancashire Telegraph's sister paper The Citizen with Crown Paint.

Friends of Sunnyhurst Wood raised £1,000 since May and other funding has come from local charities and friends groups who have donated up to £4,000 each.

The pond was formed in 1906 by Ellis Gibson who constructed it and stocked it with fish at his own expense.

It fell into disrepair in the 1980s when it silted up and became a marsh area.

Commonly known as the Frog Pond, it was always known as an area for children and educational establishments to visit.

The first phase of work involves taking the silt out of the pond with a JCB, supplying fresh water in and out of the pond by linking it to a nearby stream, decking the pond surroundings and erecting safety fencing.

Work will mainly be done at weekends, and the first phase is expected to be completed in six to seven weeks and the whole project should be finished in February 2008.

Educational visits will also be planned, with a specialist officer located in the visitor centre to liase with visitors.

The pond will be restocked with plants taken out before drainage work was done and new plants suitable for the habitat.

Plans for the pond were carried out in consultation with Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council, Pond for People, English Nature and the Wildlife Trust.

Doug Norris, secretary of Friends of Sunnyhurst Wood, said: "Everything is going exactly to plan.

"Dennis Gillibrand (president of Friends of Sunnyhurst Wood) has organised it perfectly and it is certainly on time.

"We hope that the whole project will be completed by February but a lot of it depends on the weather."