Pieces of Wellington Monument offered to boost repair fund

A "genuine piece" of the Wellington Monument is being offered by the National Trust in a bid to raise funds.

The Somerset landmark, which was fenced off in 2005 due to falling debris, is currently undergoing a £3.45m makeover.

Described as the "world's tallest three-sided obelisk", it was built as a tribute to the Duke of Wellington.

The trust said: "We know how passionate people are about the monument, so the opportunity to have a piece of it of their own seemed like a great idea."

The crumbling 175ft (53m) tall structure, on the Blackdown Hills near Wellington, has been redesigned, rebuilt and struck by lightning twice since it was built in 1817.

The National Trust, which manages the Grade II* listed structure, said it still has "just under £500,000 left to raise" for its repair work.

Claire Bolitho, from the trust, said it hoped people "would feel able to make a donation" for a small piece of the landmark.

"Wherever possible we aim to re-use stone onsite rather than replace it," she said.

"However, due to the poor condition of some of [the stone], we can't always re-use."

She said rather than it becoming "anonymous" rubble, the trust had decided to offer the "hand-sized" pieces of monument to people as mementoes.

"There are many pieces available and they also get a small certificate which confirms the stone's provenance," she said.

"We're really starting in earnest from this week but we've talked to people and they're very keen - so we hope that lots of people will want their own keepsake."

The trust said "bits of the monument" will be available onsite on Wednesdays and Sundays, between 10:00 and 13:00 BST.