A HISTORIC drinking fountain is set to return to Whitehall Park after extensive renovation.

The cast-iron fountain, donated by the Catlow family in 1906, has been dismantled, stripped back and repainted after rust had set in.

Work started on the project last May after the Friends of Whitehall Park secured a £20,000 grant from waste disposal company Sita.

The fountain was meant to be returned by October, but the work has taken longer than expected.

Friends chairman John Starbuck said: “It’s taken quite a while, but we’re hopeful it will be back in the park pretty soon. The work has involved stripping down to the bare metal and repainting it with a special formula, so hopefully it will last for many years to come.

“Also, the missing details that have fallen off over the years have been remade and replaced.”

The fountain was originally made by the Walter McFarlane Foundry in Glasgow. A reopening ceremony will take place when it is fully installed.