Delve into the past BRILLIANT NEW WAY TO SEE OLD PHOTOS FROM YOUR AREA

A FREE new online picture archive from the owners of the Mail and North Wales Live has just been launched.

The site – called Memorylane.co.uk – allows people to celebrate, explore and share historical moments in their little corner of the world through fascinating pictures taken through the years.

The launch comes as a YouGov survey carried out for Memory Lane suggests that the past is in danger of being lost because 80% of British people haven’t digitised all their photos.

The people behind Memory Lane are now asking the public to help preserve, discover, celebrate and share the images which matter to them for future generations.

Fronting the launch is Professor of History, author and broadcaster Kate Williams, who highlights the importance of Memory Lane here.

The campaign video features diverse images that unite the nation and communities including Bonfire Night, Remembrance Sunday, the NHS, migration, Windrush and street parties.

Prof Williams, passionate about the preservation of memories, said: “Photographs are one of the most important social documents we have access to, allowing us to understand society and communities from different generations.

“We learn so much more about our past when we look at the photographs of everyday people as opposed to formal photos of royalty and aristocracy.

“If important images languish in the loft, there is a real danger they may be lost forever.”

Memorylane.co.uk is a free tool providing a home for photographs that may otherwise have remained out of sight.

A rich, interactive and nostalgic archive with content searchable by location, date, topics, people, categories and more, it aims to create a bigger, more inclusive picture of history by allowing you to preserve, discover, share and colourise the past.