DARWEN Tower is set to be out of bounds for a week while a new lightning conductor is installed.

The original lightning conductor is believed to have been vandalised about two months ago and a temporary cond-uctor was put in its place.

Weather permitting, the new device will be set up on the tower during the week commencing November 17 and the building will not be accessible by the public until after November 23.

Coun Paul Browne said: “It is urgent work.

“There was a temporary repair but it wasn’t enough.

“The tower is a symbol for the whole of East Lancashire and if lightning were to strike without the proper conductor, it could be destroyed.”

Coun Michael Law-Riding, executive mem-ber for leisure and culture said: “The council is to carry out basic maintenance on Darwen Tower from November 17 until November 23.

"There will be no access available to members of the public during that time.

“Weather permitting and provided the work is completed on Darwen Tower, it will again be open to the public from Monday, November 24."

The tower was completed in 1898 to commemorate Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee and also to celebrate the victory of the local people for the right to access the moor.

It was opened to the public on September 22, 1898.

The tower was closed to the public in October 2000 for investigations that it was unsafe to the public.

The refurbishment was supposed to take two to three months to complete.

But many delays like the foot and mouth crisis meant it was not reopened until April 2002.