Castle staff aim to make knights' armour shiny

Warwick Castle's suits of armour are cleaned during the attraction's brief annual closure

The polishing of chandeliers, weaponry and suits of armour is being carried out at a medieval castle during its brief annual closure.

Staff are carrying out essential winter maintenance at Warwick Castle which will reopen to visitors on 20 January.

Cleaning crews have been scaling ladders and scaffolding to carry out the clean

Each chandelier is made from 2,500 glass pieces

Five of the castle's chandeliers, each made of 2,500 cut glass crystals, have to be hand-polished.

The light fittings were installed in the Cedar drawing room in 1894.

Ten suits of armour have to be cleaned and polished

Wire wool and specialist wax were used to polish 10 historical suits of armour, castle staff said.

Each weighed about 25kg (55lbs) and took a full day to tackle.

The medieval castle will reopen to the public on 20 January