Scrooge gravestone restored in time for Christmas

The work was carried out for free by a Shropshire company

The gravestone of Ebenezer Scrooge has been reinstated, after it was smashed into pieces by vandals in November.

The stone was left behind in the graveyard of St Chad's Church in Shrewsbury after being used as a prop in the filming of a 1984 movie adaptation of A Christmas Carol.

Local company Midland Masonry carried out the repairs for free, it finished the majority of the work on Friday and will return to repoint the cracks on Monday.

"It's been a bit of a challenge but nothing too unusual, apart from the name on the grave," said stonemason Ed Jones.

Mr Jones said the stone, which once belonged to a real person, would not look exactly as it was before.

"They [the public] will see the cracks unfortunately, but it will look OK, you can read it again you can see what it is."

"It looks like its been restored and that's what we want to see really," he added.

The remaining cracks will be filled on Monday

Town clerk at Shrewsbury Town Council Helen Ball said it was "heartening and humbling" that the company did the work for free.

"I don't think I realised how important it was to everybody until I put it on social media," she said.

She added that she had messages from around the country and even from across the world when the news broke.

"The son of the producer from the original film in 1984 got in touch with us," she said.

"He said his father had always been proud that it [the stone] had been left in situ."

The four broken pieces were pinned together with stainless steel, resin, and mortar

The repair comes just in time for the Christmas period, when tours are held to show people the remaining sets from the iconic film.

"You see people coming up looking specifically for that grave," said Nigel Hinton, a town guide.

He added that people "make a pilgrimage to see this grave, they've seen the film and they know that it's here, and they like to come and see it."