WAR memorials across Teignbridge have been on the receiving end of a £20,000 clean-up before this weekend’s Remembrance Day commemorations.

Communities across the district and the rest of the county have been toiling over renovations and maintenance to guarantee a fitting tribute to mark 100 years since the end of World War One.

The labours of love have been funded by Devon County Council as part of its Devon Remembers project which saw £150,000 made available from the sale of Exeter Airport.

Nearly 80 memorials have been given the once-over - from traditional granite crosses and stone pillars to wooden plaques and clock towers.

Cllr Roger Croad, Devon County Council’s Cabinet Member for Communities, said: ‘These war memorials, and the rituals of remembrance surrounding them, serve to remind us that thousands of people from Devon once rallied to a cause they believed to be greater than themselves and made the ultimate sacrifice, giving their lives for our freedom.’

He added: ‘In many communities they are a prominent visual connection to our shared past, creating a link between the fallen and today. It is vital that we remember and honour them, particularly during this centenary year.

‘I am pleased that, by making these funds available to our communities, many of Devon’s World War One memorials, are back looking their best and show that we will never forget those who gave so much for us.’

Among the touched-up Teignbridge treasures are:

* Ashburton where the East Street memorial was cleaned with ironwork repaired at a cost of £3,000.

* The same sum was spent at Chagford churchyard which benefited from a replaced plinth with stone and an added inscription.

*Also enjoying a £3,000 splash were Shaldon Clocktower and Ipplepen’s village square which both underwent basic restoration and cleaning.

* Similar treatment was given to Chudleigh’s memorial where £2,400 funded the work.

* Buckfastleigh’s Trinity Church memorial had its railings and lettering spruced up at a cost just short of £2,000.