Council teams are starting to clean up war memorials in preparation for Remembrance Day – a job that brings particular satisfaction to those taking part, and praise from the public seeing the results.

Telford and Wrekin Council’s street cleaners are making their way around forty sites across the borough, from church yards to parks.

Mike Ford, who works for contractor Idverde, said pressure-washing the memorials was his “favourite job of the year”.

“I absolutely love doing it,” he said, adding that “when it’s done [the result is] amazing – it’s well worth doing.”

On a cold, sunny morning in Hartshill Park, in Oakengates, Telford, Mr Ford and his team use pressure-washers to remove layers of dirt and moss from the war memorial there.

This is one of the first cenotaphs they are tackling – in order to get the borough’s memorials spick and span for Remembrance Sunday and Armistice Day.

“We clean all the floors, all the plaques, even the benches, so it’s all nice for everybody to go and visit them,” Mr Ford said.

“The rest of the year I [clean] road signs, get graffiti off – but this is such a satisfying job.”

Mike pictured using a large, industrial pressure washer on flagstones next to the memorial, which is a cross-shaped flower bed with a bench next to it and a plaque. He's wearing a bright orange hi-vis jumper with silver reflective stripes, and a bright orange baseball cap. He's stood in a park, with the grass covered in orange leaves, and the leaves still on the trees are shades of red and orange. There's strong sunshine and the sky is blue.

Mr Ford spent the morning pressure-washing the war memorial in Hartshill Park [ELLEN KNIGHT/BBC]

Paul Davis, who is the council cabinet member for communities and civic pride, said it was important the monuments were well maintained.

“It’s a way in which we can respect and honour those that have given their lives in active duty and service for us in the past,” he said.

The war memorials act as “focal points for us to come back to”, the councillor added.

“There’s lots of build-up of dust and debris from over the year, so it’s the right time to make sure they’re looking their very best.”

Cllr Davis pictured smiling slightly and looking into the camera. He's wearing a light blue collared shirt, a navy blue woollen jumper, and has a paper poppy pinned to his chest. He's stood in front of huge, wrought iron and stone gates - you can see there's writing over the top of the gates that reads 'Oakengates.' There are trees in the background with yellow leaves, and the sky is blue.

Paul Davis said the war memorial was a “focal point” for the area [ELLEN KNIGHT/BBC]

Residents Lynnette, Debbie, and Georgina meet up in the park most days for a coffee, and said they were pleased to see the memorial being maintained.

“It’s a lovely park, they do look after it well,” Lynnette said.

With the council team busy washing the memorial nearby, Debbie added it was “good to see it looked after, it’s really important”.

Georgina said: “It’s brilliant, it really is.

“We enjoy coming here so it’s nice to see it being kept up to a high standard.”

Three women sat together on a green park bench. Left to right; Georgina is wearing a maroon raincoat, Debbie is wearing a black raincoat, and Lynnette is wearing a pink jumper with a grey coat. The ground is covered in orange, fallen leaves, and you can see a green and white bandstand in the background. The leaves still on the trees are shades of red, green, and orange. There's strong sunshine and the sky is blue.

Georgina, Debbie, and Lynnette agreed it was important to look after the memorial [ELLEN KNIGHT/BBC]

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