Volunteers involved in the restoration of Queen’s Pier, Ramsey, are hopeful that bay eight of the landmark will be completed by the end of the year.

This will take the restored section of the 60-bay pier to 320ft, or just short of 98.5m.

Meanwhile, the pier restoration project has received a massive boost in the form of a £100,000 personal donation from founding member of the Trust, Tom Durrant.

Tom was instrumental in persuading the Manx government to agree to sign a lease to allow for work to begin on the first bays.

His passionate commitment to returning Queen’s Pier to its former glory was the focus of the Culture Vannin-backed documentary film ‘Grandad and the Pier’, which was released last year.

Project manager Dennis Curphey said: ‘This is a very generous donation and will go a long way to helping us continue the restoration of the pier.

‘It was Tom's foresight at the outset that was the catalyst that got the project off the ground.’

The Restoration Trust signed a five-year lease with the government in July 2017 to restore the first three bays of the pier.

This was completed within four years, with the initiative quickly becoming the largest community project in the island.

Attention then focused on phase two, with an initial programme to restore bays four to eight. Bays four and five were completed in time for an event to mark the King’s Coronation and bay six was finished in autumn last year.

Mr Curphey said: ‘Phase two is a never-ending phase, and we are near to completing the first five bays, which will take us up to and including bay 8. Depending on the weather we are hoping to have bay 8 completed the end of the year.

‘We are currently laying the decking planks on bay 8 which will leave us to fix the remaining handrail and finally the plaque board and plaques. This will be a total of 320ft which is just short of 98.5m completed.’

Kinrade Scaffolding are currently moving the scaffolding from bay 6 and 7 and erecting it to bays 9 and 10.

Dennis said: ‘As all of this is being done off the beach, the scaffolders are hindered by both the weather and tide. Once completed we will be able to commence stripping the old wood off these two bays.

‘Our steel fabricators will send their surveyor over and the fabrication of the steel for these bays can commence over the winter period. We are very fortunate to have the funding in place for both bays 9 and 10 due to the very generous donation from our founder Tom Durrant.’