Amateur historians in Keighley have been assured that priceless documents chronicling the town's past are safe.

The 1,000-plus books, ledgers and artefacts – currently in a damp town hall basement – will be moved to Keighley library.

They will then be made available to people including those studying their families' histories.

Keighley and District Local History Society had feared the archives would be dumped in landfill because Bradford Council had found a new use for the basement.

Acting on misleading information they organised a rescue mission for planned Saturday to move the documents to a safer place.

But Christine Dyson, a principal libraries officer with the Council, pledged that the “unique” archive would not be disposed of.

It includes material dating back to the 1870s.