Bishop tops out cathedral's tower

The Bishop of St Edmundsbury with project manager Horry Parsons

Bury St Edmunds' cathedral is almost finished - after 500 years.

A topping out ceremony on Thursday marked the final phase of a project to put a tower on St Edmundsbury Cathedral in the Suffolk market town.

Initial work on the tower began in the 1950s but funding to complete it was only allocated as one the nation's Millennium Projects.

Finishing the 150ft tall central lantern tower has taken five years and 25 miles of scaffolding.

The 25 miles of scaffolding should be off by Christmas

The Bishop of St Edmundsbury, the Rt Rev Richard Lewis, climbed the scaffolding on Thursday afternoon to bless and dedicate the tower - designed to last 1,000 years - and thank the builders.

Project manager Horry Parsons said he hoped that by Christmas the people of Bury St Edmunds would have an uncluttered view of the structure.

"I expect a lot of people think we have been just brewing up tea for five years but it will be nice for them to see what we have actually done," he said.