Norwich Cathedral's weathercock brought down for first time in decades for restoration work

Norwich Cathedral's golden weathercock has been brought down for the first time since the 1960s to allow restoration work to take place.

The iconic feature, which weighs around 35kg, has stood at the very top of the cathedral's spire since 1756 and has only been removed a handful of times.

The last occasion that it was taken off the spire was believed to have been in 1963.

Father and son Chris and Sam Milford recently climbed the 315ft spire to remove the 264-year-old weathercock for maintenance.

It took them around three hours to bring it back to the ground, and the feature will now be regilded before it returns to its summit.

The team will spend the next few days restoring it before they embark on the long trek back to the top.

"When you come down, and you meet people whose relatives have worked on the original and they've worked on the previous time (1963) - you're bridging the gap," Sam Milford told ITV News Anglia.

"My children are going to say thing about me so it's an incredible step to make."