Pride as restoration of town's crest complete

A town's stone crest which had been destroyed by weather has been restored.

The Borough of South Shields' coat of arms, on the front of the town's Customs House, was remade by a local stonemason after years of weathering ruined the design.

Kristofer Tebble said "being a local sand dancer and being asked to reinstate the coat of arms" meant the world to him.

"One day I want to show my sons and say: 'Listen, this is what your dad worked on'."

The coat of arms was the crest for the Borough of South Shields from 1850 until the 1970s, when the Borough of South Tyneside was established with its own crest.

It was designed by Shields poet and artist, Robinson Elliott, the Customs House said.

The coat of arms was originally meant to be restored, but the damage was so great, Mr Tebble, who is director of KT Stonemasonry & Restoration Ltd, had to remake it instead.

The project started with a half-tonne (500kg) square block of stone, which he "chipped away" at.

He said it took longer than he thought it would, as the original stone was not perfectly round, and therefore the depth gauge, to transfer the original design, could not be accurate.

"Anything you chip off, you can't put back," Mr Tebble said.

He used old photos of the coat of arms to remake the design, which had to be approved by South Tyneside Council.

"My family are proud, I'm proud of it as well," he added.

The Customs House arts venue said the project had been funded by the SUEZ Communities Fund and a private individual, and cost "in the region of £20,000".

The project took two years to complete, from securing funding to installing the new stone.

A statement from Customs House said Mr Tebble had done an "amazing job recreating detail that was once lost".

It added: "This important part of our history has been preserved for future generations."

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