People passing St Silin’s Church at Llansilin will have been surprised to see giant scaffolding covered with green netting has sprung up in the churchyard.

But it’s alll to do with the village’s war memorial receiving a makeover.

The feature, which forms part of the Grade One listed Llansilin Parish Church site, is structurally sound but needs a thorough clean to remove decades of surface contamination. Some pointing repairs are required too and, perhaps most importantly; all the inscriptions will be repainted so they will be as easy to read as they were nearly 100 years ago.

The work is being carried out by the specialist firm Elliott Ryder Conservation with 90 per cent of the almost £4,000 cost being funded by a Powys County Council project grant and the rest being found by the church and the community council.

Following a recent site visit Powys War Memorial officer Nathan Davies said: “I was really pleased with the sample cleaning that Elliot Ryder Conservation had prepared for us.

“I think the memorial is going to look fantastic when the work is complete. It has been a pleasure working with the Llansilin team on this piece of work.”

Church secretary Valerie Burton added: “With help from the community council, the church council has taken advantage of funding from Powys County Council to take part in a countywide project.

“All communities have the opportunity to spruce up their memorials ready for the nation’s commemorations in November 2018.”