An obelisk next to a war memorial in Uppermill which was vandalised has been restored by stonemasons.
Following damage caused to the cross in St Chad’s Gardens by vandals in May, the council appealed for anyone who might have information about the incident to get in touch with police.
The top of a stone cross next to the main cenotaph was damaged beyond repair during the act of vandalism.
The memorial was originally installed in 1921, to remember the sacrifice made by 252 men from Saddleworth who lost their lives in the First World War.
It was subsequently altered to remember those who lost their lives in the Second World War.
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Following the vandalism, the cross was collected by Heritage Conservation Restoration, which used the damaged stone as a template to carve a new top section.
The replacement piece was hand-carved at Heritage’s workshop in Mossley, with details said to "perfectly replace" those in the broken piece.
The piece was then mechanically fixed into what remained of the existing cross, and restored back to its original location.
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It was then lifted and fixed back into position on the existing column.
A section of the plinth stone, also damaged in the act of vandalism, was also repaired.
On completion of the work, Heritage Conservation Restoration company director Michael Goulding said: “We are really proud to have been asked to restore a piece of history in our local community and we are really pleased to see the monument restored back to its former glory.
“The new piece of stone has been refixed with a slate dowel rather than previous stone dowel, to ensure longevity of the repairs carried out.
“The new piece was hand carved to match the existing patterns and in a few years, the new piece of stone will change to be more similar to the existing stone.
"It will be so embedded that the vandalism will be a distant memory, so locals and visitors alike will enjoy the monument for years to come.”
Meanwhile, neighbouring monument, the St Chad’s War Memorial, is included on Historic England’s National Heritage List as a Grade II listed building.
According to Historic England, the memorial was unveiled on Saturday, October 21, 1921, by Lieutenant-Colonel Gilbert, the owner of Waterside Mill, in Greenfield.
The memorial was originally surrounded by raised flower borders and approached by a short path, but this was later replaced with a paved area.
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