A heritage tour at Arnos Vale Cemetery on Saturday will give visitors a close-up view of the progress which is being made with the £5million restoration project.

They will also see some new discoveries about people buried there including the distinguished soldier from the Napoleonic wars who became an earl and lived locally for nearly 40years.

For the past year, contractors have been working to restore the main buildings and some of the landscape in the cemetery thanks to a Heritage Lottery Fund grant of £4.8m to restore Arnos Vale, subject to £600,000 in "match funding" being raised.

Dave Napier, of the Friends of Arnos Vale Cemetery and tour coordinator, said: "We are really looking forward to when the restoration work will be completed this autumn.

"Although the restored buildings are still largely hidden behind scaffolding, some of the work being done can be seen and things are really taking shape.

"Visitors joining this heritage tour will be able to see all this progress and also hear about some more interesting characters whose graves we have rediscovered in the past few months."

The two-hour tour starts at 10am from the West Lodge just inside the entrance on the Bath Road and costs £3 per person, which goes towards the restoration and maintenance fund. Booking is essential.

Anyone interested should call Mr Napier on 01275 542491 or 07891 675373, or email him on dave.napier@blueyonder.co.uk.