Four bronze lions are sitting on Rochester Bridge with pride, after being given a new lease of life.

The lions, which guard the approaches to the Old Bridge as it crosses the River Medway, have been shrouded with tents over the past few weeks, as they were restored to their former glory.

They are being given a make-over, at a cost of about £25,000, by the Rochester Bridge Trust.

The trust, which owns the bridge, appointed specialist bronze restoration contractor Antique Bronze to treat the lions as part of ongoing restoration work being completed on the whole structure.

Parapet

The £1.2 million project also includes repairing the parapet on the upstream side and installing new lights similar to its original design.

The four lions date from the 1914 bridge reconstruction and are designed to sit in front of the four pillared porticos.

It is thought they were originally cast by J W Singer, a firm which produced the statue of Boadicea on Westminster Bridge and the Scales of Justice over the Old Bailey.

The work took three weeks to restore them.

Dr Anne Logan, a junior warden from the trust, said: “I hope people crossing the bridge will enjoy seeing the lions properly restored as magnificent bronze statues.”

Iain McLean, one of the restorers from Antique Bronze, added: “We are delighted to be working on the lions – they are exceptionally high quality castings with fantastic surface detail.

“Although they have been painted, thankfully there are relatively low levels of corrosion and once finished they will proudly guard the bridge once more.”