Precious recordings of people and sounds from Norfolk's past are to be preserved for future generations thanks to a £650,000 grant.

Norfolk Record Office is to become the East of England hub in a network of new sound preservation centres after getting a share of £18.8m awarded to The British Library to preserve sound recordings.

The British Library's Unlocking Our Sound Heritage project involves forming the first ever national network of 10 sound preservation centres, including the Norfolk Record Office.

This network of centres will work with the British Library to save almost half a million rare and unique recordings which would otherwise be lost.

The recordings, many of them on tape, are threatened by physical degradation and are stored on formats which are becoming extremely difficult to play.

Oral histories from all over Norfolk and from other counties in the East of England tell the stories of individuals and communities, of shared and unique experiences and of lost industries.

For example, the interviews collected by the Norwich Community Workshop Trust tell the story of the 1912 flood in Norwich from those who witnessed it.

And there are oral history interviews relating to the railway in Norfolk which were made by pioneer sound recordist, Oscar winner and train enthusiast Peter Handford - which will be saved.

And music performed or created in Norfolk will feature, along with recordings of the county's wildlife.

The £650,000 will enable the record office to work with the British Library to preserve both its own and its partners unique and rare regional sounds.

The grant means the record office can improve its sound digitation studio, employ four members of staff and run a programme of learning and public engagement events.

County archivist Gary Tuson said: 'This funding announcement is fantastic news for Norfolk. It will enable Norfolk Record Office to work with the British Library and ensure the preservation of unique sound archives which give us valuable insight into life in Norfolk at various points in time.

'These sound recordings will now be made available in a format that can be enjoyed by generations to come.'

People will be able to listen to the recordings on an interactive website hosted by the British Library, due to go live in 2019.

The funding includes £9.5m from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Roly Keating, chief executive of the British Library, said: 'We are extremely grateful to the Heritage Lottery Fund and all our supporters for recognising the urgent need to save these rare, unique recordings from around the UK.

'The British Library is the home of the nation's sound archive, and we are delighted that this funding will help us preserve our audio heritage for people to explore and enjoy.'

Ilse Assmann, president of the International Association of Sound and Audiovisual Archives (IASA), said: 'IASA recognises that a significance part of the world's cultural heritage is captured in the form of sound recordings. These are threatened by decay and media obsolescence and unless something is done urgently, many recordings will be lost and unavailable for access by future generations.

'The Unlocking Our Sound Heritage project is a fine example being set to secure and make accessible the sound heritage held in UK archives.'