THE flag on Ovington’s historic maypole is once again flying high thanks a local business’ gesture of goodwill.
The flag rope snapped early last month during high winds leaving residents with a quandary about how to pass a new one through the pulley some 18.5metres up the pole.
The pole itself, which is a listed structure, blew down in storms in November 2015, and, following a fundraising drive, was replaced with a new one imported from Finland in September 2016.
Cllr Peter Levett, from the village’s parish council said: “The new maypole stands tall in the centre of the green and two large chunks of the former maypole have been made into benches on either side of the green.
“A few weeks ago the flag rope snapped in high winds leaving me with the major problem of how to fit a new rope through the pulley at the top.”
He was advised to contact James Lawrie, of JRL UK Commercials, who also lives in Teesdale.
His company provides cherry-pickers for high level access for maintenance and other issues.
Mr Lawrie said: “As a gesture of goodwill I offered our services free of charge to the village to allow Peter to safely carry out the work. The whole job from pulling up to driving away was completed in less than an hour.”
He explained that his company, which specialises in gutter cleaning on commercial and residential buildings, uses drones to carry out aerial surveys to assess work accurately.
Cllr Levett said: “We, the villagers and the parish council, can’t thank James enough for turning what was a nightmare scenario into an easy job and would have no hesitation in recommending his company to anyone else who have a high access problem.”
