Work has begun to restore the famous stripes of the Beachy Head Lighthouse.

A specialist crew from Sussex Blast Cleaners have spent the weekend abseiling down the side of the lighthouse as it receives a new lick of paint.

The work follows a public campaign to raise £27,000 to give the lighthouse a new coat of paint after owners Trinity House said it was no longer financially viable to upkeep its famous stripes.

The team of five landed on the lighthouse on Friday and have been holed up in the tower all weekend. It is expected that the work, which was delayed for three days because of bad weather, will take up to three weeks to complete.

Martin Griffin, managing director of Sussex Blast Cleaners, said: “We have started doing the priming on the lantern. There’s about 12 years of salt water on it so it’s showing its wear.”