WORK has restarted on a £13,000 revamp on the clock faces at Derby Cathedral.

Workers at Smith of Derby, the company behind the refurbishment, had been forced to stop and remove gilding on the two faces after rain ruined the finish of the paintwork.

They applied new paint to the faces for a second time last Friday and completed painting the topcoat on Tuesday.

The workers, who have had to abseil down the cathedral's tower to work on the faces, will then try gold-leafing the roman numeral figures later in August.

Steve Morson, contracts manager at Smith of Derby, said the work was now expected to be finished in about three weeks.

It is the first time work has been carried out on the clocks in four decades, with the last renovation in 1964.

The work will cost £13,000 and is being funded by the Friends of Derby Cathedral. But money is still needed for the refurbishment, so anyone interested in helping out should call Derby 341201.