Repairs to a historic harbour wall at a Moray port are almost complete after it collapsed into the sea.
A gaping hall was left in the stonework at Cullen after it was battered by months of high tides.
Now contractors have salvaged the stones they have been able to in order to rebuild the wall that has defended the harbour since the 19th Century.
Rock armour will also be put on the sea-facing side of the pier to protect the cherished structure from future high tides.
Repair crews were at the port yesterday and have been now working on the project for more than three weeks after the damage was first reported at the end of December.
Last night, Cullen Community Council member Dennis Paterson praised the quick response from the Moray Council engineers.
He said: “It’s coming along fine. I wasn’t expecting it to get fixed as quickly as it has done so they’ve done well.”
Meanwhile, Keith and Cullen councillor Ron Shepherd is due to meet the repair crews tomorrow (THUR) to learn about the progress being made.
He said: “It’s looking good. A lot of people have been down looking at the work. I’m pleased it’s been taken care of quickly.”
Moray Council has confirmed that operations at the harbour have remained unaffected while repairs have been taking place at the pier.
Fears were raised the entire sea wall could have been at risk of collapse after the stones crashed into the water.
The remaining structure was dismantled before the original stone was used to rebuild the 201-year-old B-listed structure.
A Moray Council spokeswoman said: “On the harbour-facing side of the wall, the decks have been repaired, bollard reinstated and stones built up almost to the height of the capping stones now.
“On the sea-facing side there is still some pointing to do then layers of rock armour to go in.”
The harbour was built in 1817 and was designed by Thomas Telford – who was also responsible for the Caledonian Canal and Craigellachie Bridge.
