A giant scaffolding structure built inside an historic cathedral has opened up even more spectacular views.

Expert scaffolders have built a 53-metre long safety deck high above Canterbury Cathedral's Nave as a platform for the conservation team to work from.

It is 33 tonnes and the size of three tennis courts, sitting 16 metres above the Nave floor and supported by aluminium beams and 1.9km of scaffold tubes.

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It has been constructed by Margate company All Access.

The giant platform and the additional scaffolding on the outside of the building mark the launch of the Canterbury Journey - a £24.7 million development of one of the UK's oldest churches.

It has been funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund (£13.8 million) and donations from private and charitable sources (£10.9 million).

Project director of the Canterbury Journey Mark Hosea said: “The deck has become quite the talking point for visitors and for those working in the Cathedral.

"It has been amazing watching it being built and the height has afforded stunning new views of the building.

“Cathedral conservators have not had this extent of access to stained glass and the interior vaulting of the Nave roof for hundreds of years.

"I know that everyone involved is feeling a real sense that history is being made.”

Over the next five years the Cathedral’s West Towers, the leaking Nave roof and the Cathedral main entrance, the Christ Church Gate, will be repaired and restored.

The Precincts will be landscaped to enable better access and enhance their appearance.

A new Welcome Centre with information, ticketing, interpretation and the Cathedral shop is being built with an entrance from the city’s Buttermarket and this building will also include a viewing gallery and community space.

The Canterbury Journey will also open up the Cathedral collections to a larger audience and a new Pilgrim Pass will replace the existing resident pass scheme.

For more about the Canterbury Journey click here to visit the website.

To see more pictures, buy next week's Kentish Gazette, out on Thursday, March 23.