A COMPANY who specialise in the restoration and conservation of historic structures has been commissioned to clean Leigh Cenotaph after it was targeted by vandals.

Following the vandalism, Leigh-based WJ Structures, were approached by Wigan Council to clean the monument which bears the names of service personnel who died in the First and Second World Wars.

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Directors Wayne and Lloyd Jolley said: “As a local business with great community links we were appalled and disappointed to hear of the vandalism of the Cenotaph.

"It’s sadly not the first time we have been enlisted to remove graffiti from such local monuments, having removed paint from a memorial in Ince a few years ago.

"We were proud to be approached by the Council to clean the Cenotaph and remove all traces of the graffiti ready for Remembrance Sunday.

"We have been members of The Stone Federation for over 10 years, and Blue and Red Rosette scheme approved operatives for Stone Health, an industry leader in stone restoration and education within this particular field, so we are ideally placed to support the local community in restoring this important landmark.”

WJ Structures have been carrying the works free of charge, which began at the back end of last week.

The works are using the DOFF Integra low pressure/high temperature steam cleaning system, by Stone Health, which utilises steam at 150 degrees at a very low pressure, causing no damage to the stone.