THOUSANDS of films capturing Yorkshire's history are being preserved for future generations - thanks to the work of a York firm.

A pioneering temperature and humidity control system has been installed at the Yorkshire Film Archive's new base at Fountains Learning Centre, York St John College.

Property consultants and chartered surveyor Lightly & Lightly, which is based at Clifton Moor, York, supervised the installation of the system, which should ensure the safety of 3,500 historic films, including poignant wartime footage of an army sports day on Ripon Racecourse in 1916.

Before the computerised control system was chosen, research was carried out on international best practice for film preservation by consulting bodies including the International Federation of Film Archives (FIAF).

Tom Vincent, Yorkshire Film Archive collections manager, said: "Film starts to deteriorate almost as soon as it has been processed. When stored in a cold environment, its lifespan can increase from a few years to a few hundred.

"This dramatic increase allows the archive to successfully take care of the original collection on a long-term basis, ensuring that it is preserved for posterity and allowing people to see and enjoy these images."

Lightly & Lightly's associate director, Colin Linley, who acted as construction monitor for the archive's new base, said: "The installation of the temperature control system was a major challenge."

Updated: 15:54 Monday, December 01, 2003