Volunteers repair giant chalk man on Dorset hillside

  • Dorset

  • Video report by ITV News Correspondent Paul Davies

Volunteers are gathering in a picturesque Dorset village to help restore its most famous resident - a 60 metre tall giant.

Cerne Abbas' chalk man has loomed over the village for time for centuries, possibly as far back as the Iron Age.

But more than a decade since his last spruce, the figure is beginning to look a little jaded.

Weeds have begun to blur his once striking outline; the white of his chalk, which makes him visible for miles around, has begun to fade.

The giant sits on a steep slope, meaning rainwater slowly erodes his outline, but also providing a challenge for those working to repair him.

Volunteers are working to preserve the giant for future generations. Credit: PA

Tonnes of porous rock, sourced from a nearby quarry, will now be packed into the figure's outline, preserving him for another decade.

His origins are unknown - but speculation around them is rife.

Some have suggested he may be a symbol of fertility, others have taken the line he may be the God of an ancient tribe.

Mike Clark from the Cerne Historical Society believes there are "many different theories surrounding the giant’s identity and origin."

The giant has loomed over Cerne Abbas for time immemorable. Credit: PA

He said: "Some claim he is an ancient symbol, perhaps a likeness of the Greco-Roman God Hercules, though the earliest recorded mention of the Giant only dates from 1694.

"Others suggest he was created to mock Oliver Cromwell. These are the most favoured theories but all of them have their drawbacks.

"Local folklore has also long held him to be an aid to fertility."

Publicity stunts have used the giant over the years. Credit: PA

The figure has attracted a series of publicity stunts in its time.

Gambling site Paddy Power adapted the figure's club to be a tennis racket for the start of Wimbledon in 2017.

Local pagans were reportedly angered and threatened to conjure "rain magic" in 2007 after cartoon character Homer Simpson was sketched next to the giant in wash-away paint.

The National Trust, which owns the site, requested a fee of £5,000 in 1998 after an American jeans brand covered the figures legs with trousers.

The local brewery, which uses the giant on its logo, in 2016 found its branding had been censored by the Houses of Parliament after being deemed too shocking for thirsty MPs.