FOOTAGE of Gagarin's visit was captured on camera and has been lovingly restored after being rescued from a skip.

"It was thanks to the foundry workers' union that we got hold of the film," explained Geoff Senior, from the North West Film Archive (NWFA), at Manchester Metropolitan University.

"The 16mm film, probably made for television, was rescued from a skip by a former union official as they were clearing the building back in 2001.

"It shows him travelling in an open car on his tour, he's said to have declined the use of a covered car saying that if the people could get wet waiting to see him then so should he'."

Click here to view extracts of the nostalgic film.