Two "unviting" alleyways in Magherafelt have been transformed into new welcoming pedestrian walkways.

The walkways, which link Broad Street to Union Street and Central car parks, were developed with £202,000 funding to include new footpaths, drainage, lighting, painting and the removal of graffiti.

Funded by the Department for Communities and Mid Ulster District Council, this work serves as an extension of the town's Public Realm scheme in 2016.

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It also forms the first phase of the project which will see a new visitor trails experience delivered, inspired by the words of Irish poet Seamus Heaney.

Welcoming the new walkways, Chair of Mid Ulster District Council, Councillor Martin Kearney, said: "These once unattractive and uninviting alleyways have been transformed through this work and the response from local people and local businesses has been overwhelmingly positive.

"I'm delighted to see the first stage complete and I look forward to the next phase, when artistic interpretations of Seamus Heaney's poetry will be added to reflect the town's connections with the poet and his work, forming part of a wider trails experience across the landscape which inspired so much of Heaney's work."

(CM/JG)