The Chieftain tank, a Saracen armoured personal carrier and a Ferret armoured car, arrived at the Heugh Gun Battery, on the Headland, Hartlepool, this week.

A 25 pound field gun was also among the artefacts transported from the Drax Power Station near Doncaster, by Hartlepool firm Seymour Civic Engineering on two low loaders.

They were donated free of charge to the gun battery by the management of the power station, who needed to free up the space.

One of the directors of the Heugh Gun Battery, Glenn Baume, said: "We were contacted to see if we would be interested in taking some of the vehicles and equipment off their hands, which of course we were more than happy to do.

"They used to have a museum at the power station site that housed all
the vehicles, but they needed the space.

"If we were to buy these vehicles it would have cost us around the £50,000 mark, so to be given them for free is tremendous.

"I would like to say a huge thank you to the maintenance manager at Drax and Seymour for transporting the vehicles."

The Chieftain tank, which is believed to have been made in Leeds, is around 35-years-old and it weighs 57 tonnes when fully armoured. It is around 9ft wide and 14ft long and would cost around £15,000 to buy.

The six-wheeled Saracen, which was used by the British Army between the 1950s and 1970s, served in Northern Ireland and Korea.
The field gun dates back to 1942 and was used during the Second World War.

Meanwhile, the four-wheeled Ferret armoured car, dates back to the 1950s and was also used by the British Army.

A number of radios, weapons, uniforms and mannequins were also donated to the battery.

The Heugh Battery Trust has been restoring the historic site over the past decade and has built up an impressive collection of artillery equipment.

The site, which defended the town against a German sea bombardment in 1914, has undergone a major restoration programme to recreate how it looked during the first and second world wars.

Improvements to the site included a toilet block, cafe, classrooms and exhibition centre.

Mr Baume said the vehicles need a lot of work doing to them. But they hope to make them roadworthy.

He added: "I would like to apologise to the residents of Moor Terrace for the inconvenience and disruption we caused this week as we had to block the road off.

"We thank them for their patience and understanding."

The Heugh Battery is open Thursdays to Sundays, between 10am and 4pm. Admission is £4 for adults and £2.50 for children and pensioners, with free entry for veterans.