Bude storm tower moved 100m inland to protect it from coastal erosion

• Watch Charlotte Gay's report as the historic tower is reopened in Bude

An 189-year-old cliff-top tower in Cornwall has reopened after being moved inland to protect it from coastal erosion.

The Compass Point Tower, known as the pepperpot, in Bude, was moved brick-by-brick 100m inland.

The former lookout tower, previously used by coastguards in storms and high tides, was at risk of collapsing into the sea.

Work to move the tower began in May 2023, after the community raised more than £60,000, and both Cornwall Council and Bude-Stratton Council put money towards it.

The project, which cost nearly half a million pounds, also received around £300,000 in National Lottery funding.

Francesca Churchill-Zerill, project manager for Bude-Stratton Town Council, said rebuilding the tower was a "long process."

"The construction of the tower was Portland cement, and we didn't anticipate that, so it made it much harder to deconstruct," she said.

"|And then obviously, physically removing it stone by stone, labelling every single one and then rebuilding it in the traditional way was a long process."

She added the project faced several delays due to the weather.

"It really hindered our progress," she said. "We're really exposed up here, so it was expected but this previous year was far more than we anticipated in terms of the level of rain and the storms we experienced."

It is not the first time the former lookout tower has been relocated. It was previously moved in 1881 to stop it from falling into the sea.

Around 500 people came to see the official reopening of the Grade-II listed tower on Tuesday 26 March.

One woman told ITV West Country it was "really important" that the building was salvaged.

"We really were quite worried about it. We didn't want to lose it. It's part of our history here," she said.