A CAMPAIGN to raise £15,000 to restore Pocklington's 150-year-old town clock has been successful.

Nine months ago the Pocklington Town Clock Restoration Committee was formed to give the town's only public clock a new lease of life.

The clock on the tower of All Saints' Church was built in 1946 by a firm in Selby.

It had not been cleaned for more than 30 years and routine maintenance revealed that the four dials were covered in algae.

The chairman of the committee, Bryan Myerscough, has now announced that it has raised the total of £15,000 needed for the work.

The committee's fundraising efforts were helped by donations from the town's residents and two national funds, the WREN organisation, the administrator for the landfill tax credit scheme, and the Local Heritage Initiative.

The restoration work is expected to start soon and will be carried out by the Cumbria Clock Company from Penrith. Technicians will be lowered down the church tower on ropes and then the clock faces will be lowered to the ground.

The faces will then be sent to Cumbria for re-painting.

Pocklington Town Council is planning to record the dismantling of the clock faces on a webcam and send the images live to its website, www.pocklington.gov.uk

The secretary of the committee, Richard Wood, who is Pocklington's town clerk, said: "The clock, with its blue face, is a symbol of Pocklington and is used by those who work, visit or live in the town. The clock is very important to the people of the town."

The clock is expected to be up and running again at the end of July and the committee is already planning a service of dedication.

The committee also intends to reinstate the clock's chimes on the quarter hour.

The chimes have not worked for many years due to complaints that the bells kept people awake during the night. The restoration work will enable the clock's chimes to be silenced at night.

To commemorate the work being carried out, a floral clock is to be made up in the grounds of All Saints' Church.

Updated: 10:10 Friday, May 30, 2003