Tower repairs finish early

The tower, at the top of the tor, has been closed for five months

Vital repairs to the historic tower at the top of Glastonbury Tor have been completed early.

St Michael's Tower, which stands atop one of Somerset's most famous landmarks, has been covered with scaffolding since April.

But now work to replace modern cement pointing which was damaging the fabric of the building has finished.

A helicopter which was called in to lift scaffolding and materials to the tor's summit has been helping to remove it - allowing visitors to see the tower again.

Conservationists have spent five months removing the pointing and replacing it with a traditional lime mortar mix, and repairing stone and metalwork on the parapet.

The repairs were funded by a £314,000 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund and more than £105,000 of donations to the National Trust.

The tower was closed while work was going on, but will now reopen to tourists.