A LOCAL stonemason whose expertise are used to repair iconic cathedrals and war graves is behind the restoration of a Barrow landmark.

Last April the stone trough in Abbey Road, which has stood at the site since 1873, was left in bits after a one-car collision.

Cumbria County Council scoured the region for a specialist stonemason who was capable of replacing the trough and found the ideal candidate closer to home than they could have hoped for.

Ulverston-based David Lamb has spent the last 20 years working on some of the UK’s most iconic cathedrals and listed buildings.

He has been tasked with painstakingly intricate work on Gloucester Cathedral, Carlisle Cathedral, York Minster and also leads the team responsible for maintaining all the Commonwealth war graves in India and Africa.

"My training and skills are predominantly based around traditional methods and using hand tools," the 36-year-old said.

"This lends itself well to sympathetic conservation and restoration work and the training of apprentice stonemasons.

I'm also fully trained in more modern methods and machinery."

He moved his family to Canada in 2013 to work on carvings at Parliament Hill but moved back to his hometown of Ulverston in 2016 ahead of the birth of his third child.

"When we found out our third was on the way we decided to move back home," Mr Lamb, a former Ulverston Victoria High School pupil, said.

"I've always lived near cathedrals so when we moved back to Ulverston I thought it was an ideal time to set up my own business."

Being given the opportunity to use his skills to benefit the local community was an 'honour' for Mr Lamb.

The dad-of-four said: "I really enjoy my work; it's a real passion of mine.

"It took around three months in total but six weeks of that was waiting for the piece of stone.

"The stone was via Cumbria Stone from Penrith and it's St Bees red sandstone.

"Doing the actual carving itself took two weeks."