A famous landmark is being given a fresh lick of paint after work was put off during lockdown.

Specialist painters have got to work on the Willesborough Windmill in Hythe Road, Ashford, to apply new coats which will help protect the Grade II* listed building and leave it looking its best.

The paint job, which could cost up to £45,000 to complete, is being funded by monies raised by events hosted at the mill and by the support of Friends of Willesborough Windmill.

Pat White, from Willesborough Windmill Trust, said: "The windmill is painted on a regular basis, and it should have been done last year, but because of lockdown it wasn't and it has got very dirty.

"It is a wooden building so it needs regular painting to keep it in good condition.

"It helps protect the structure, and we have a millwright who comes once a month to see that the mill is working properly.

"We are also a wedding venue - so the look of the mill is important."

The windmill, a white smock mill built in 1869, was in commercial operation until the 1950s but was closed down and then used for storage and later as a home until 1989.

It was subsequently bought by Ashford Borough Council and restored to its former glory, and today flour is once again milled on the site for sale at local farm shops and from the mill itself.

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