WORK to restore a prominent Dorset monument which had become unsafe is nearing completion.

The National Trust said £150,000-worth of repairs to Hardy’s Monument on Blackdown are progressing well and should be finished by the end of October.

The 72ft structure in memory of Vice-Admiral Sir Thomas Masterman Hardy was in a poor state of repair and becoming unsafe with falling masonry, as a result of exposure to weather.

Restoration work started in May and has been funded by several organisations.

Once complete, people will be able to climb the 84 steps to the top once more for views across the down.

National Trust countryside manager Rob Rhodes said: “After so many years of being exposed to the elements, especially the rain and frost, there is a lot of damage to the monument. A lot of the masonry has failed and we were very concerned that the building was becoming unsafe.

“But thanks to the funding from Rural Development Programme for England, National Trust’s Neptune Fund and local National Trust members associations, we are able to repair the eroded mortar and cracking stonework.

The repair will replace nearly 200 stones and re-point 60 per cent of the monument, while work required to the internal staircase is being done at the same time. The re-pointing will make use of lime mortar that will allow water to evaporate though the mortar rather than the stonework.

This is the original mortar specification and will protect the stonework better from future erosion.

The monument was built in 1844 by public subscription in memory of Vice-Admiral Hardy, who had a distinguished naval career.

He served as flag captain on Nelson’s ship, HMS Victory at the Battle of Trafalgar on October 21, 1805. He was walking alongside his Commander in Chief when a French sniper fatally shot Nelson.

His family home was at nearby Portesham, within walking distance of the monument, which had previously been restored in 1900 by Hardy’s descendants.

Restoration work to preserve the beauty and heritage of the surrounding heath and grassland will also start soon.

Blackdown lies within the Dorset Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty at the highest point of the 17-mile South Dorset Ridgeway.