A TIME capsule has been buried in the walls of new business in the town centre.

Darlington Harriers and St Teresa’s Hospice donated items to Newcastle Building Society to mark the occasion.

As well as the charity donations, the capsule contained the current £5 note and £1 coin, both of which are due to be discontinued this year, plus a restaurant menu and a newspaper from the day of the burial.

The new branch and Financial Advice Centre at Horsemarket will replace the Society’s current Skinnergate branch, which has served the Darlington community for over 25 years.

Branch manager Gemma Manson said: “We’ve been part of the local community for almost three decades, so it makes sense we want to continue improving our facilities and services for existing and new customers.

“We’re moving just round the corner, but we wanted to mark the significance of our relocation and felt that burying a time capsule would be the perfect way to bring a part of our Darlington history with us to the new branch.

“We’ve worked closely with St Teresa’s Hospice to support them over the last two years, with the branch team and our customers working hard to raise almost £2,000 for them in that time.

“They offer an extremely important service to our local community and we were pleased we were able to involve them in the project and give them a behind-the-scenes view of a branch under construction.”