Clock tower repairs begin ahead of Remembrance Day

A landscape street view of a circular raised lawn surrounded by a low wall on a tarmac road. The wall is discoloured on the left and right with the yellow/beige stone bricks missing. In the middle is a narrow red brick building shaped like a tower with the base made of stone and featuring gothic edifices. In the background are retail units and commercial buildings
The clock tower, which was built to mark Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee, was mysteriously damaged [Lincolnshire County Council]

Work has begun to repair a retaining wall surrounding Skegness Clock Tower after it was mysteriously damaged.

Lincolnshire County Council is replacing the coping stones on the wall, which it believes was damaged following a crash. The authority previously said it was not sure when or how the damage occurred.

The repair work, which started at 07:30 BST, is expected to cost about £3,000 and is due to finish on Monday.

The tower is due to have a display of poppies around it as part of this year’s remembrance events.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the tower's stonework will also be cleaned to remove dirt and moss.

The original brickwork manufacturer has agreed to produce a “like-for-like” copy to match the existing structure.

Traffic management on the inside lane of the roundabout will remain in place overnight while the works take place.

A low wall with a vertical crack in the middle going from top to bottom. The left half of the wall is beige stone while the right shows dark discolouration and mottling on the brickwork. A section of the top is also missing.
The council previously said it was not sure when or how the wall was damaged [Lincolnshire County Council]

Conservative Councillor Carl Macey, who represents Skegness North, said he was pleased the repairs would be completed ahead of Remembrance Day on 11 November.

"I’m delighted that we will be able to get this work completed in time for the remembrance events," said Cllr Macey.

"It’s taken some time to get to this position because our specialist contractors have had copings made to match the original ones which have been damaged.

"It’s been a wait, but the end result will be worth it."

Six nets filled with thousands of poppies are set to decorate the clock tower once repairs have been completed.

Some of the poppies have been made from plastic bottles and clay by local children, while others have either crafted or crocheted the red symbolic flowers.

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