War memorials given a facelift in time for Remembrance Day

Two Sunderland war memorials were given a facelift in time for Remembrance Sunday.

While the city's main Remembrance service was held at the cenotaph in Burdon Road, ceremonies were also held at locations across Wearside.

And Sunderland City Council staff pulled out all the stops to make sure two of the city's memorials were looking their best in time for the solemn occasion.

Repairs carried out on the listed war memorial in Easington Lane meant that the clock which forms part of the memorial was able to chime at the start of the two-minute silence at 11am on Remembrance Sunday for the first time in many years.

Other improvements included new roof, clock mechanism and faces, masonry repairs, and replacement lead inscriptions.

The council also carried out improvements to the war memorial at Ryhope including masonry repair and cleaning, and renewed bronze panels and inscriptions.

Cabinet Secretary Coun Paul Stewart said: "We know how important the annual Remembrance commemorations are for our communities which is why we pulled out all the stops to make sure the work was complete in time for Remembrance Sunday.

"The weather hasn't been in our favour over the last few weeks but our teams have worked their hardest to get the work done ahead of Remembrance weekend.

"Fortunately we managed get the last of the repairs finished by Friday so that they could look their very best for the services on Sunday."