'Fading' names restored on Gheluvelt Park war memorial

The memorial was unveiled in Gheluvelt Park in August 2010

The names of WWI soldiers which have "faded" from a memorial in Worcester are to be restored.

The metal memorial at Gheluvelt Park honours troops from the Worcestershire regiment who died in the Battle of Gheluvelt in Ypres, Belgium in 1914.

Worcester City Council said it was designed to rust in natural weather but the names, which were supposed to stay visible, had faded as well.

It said the names would be painted back in rust-proof paint.

The work will take place over the summer in time for next year's centenary of the Battle of Gheluvelt, the authority said.

The £33,000 steel memorial was unveiled in August 2010 as part of a £800,000 revamp of the park.

Council leader Adrian Gregson said it was designed to slowly rust to create "an atmospheric commemoration of this historic battle".

He said it had taken "several months of experimenting" to find a way to stop the names disappearing.

"This will ensure that visitors to Gheluvelt Park will be able to fully appreciate the brave sacrifice that the men of the Worcestershire Regiment made for them," he said.