RESTORATION work on an ancient barn threatened with destruction has finally been completed.

Bradford on Avon's West Barn, believed to date back to the 12th century, was burned down by vandals in 1982 and remained in ruins until the town's preservation society began a renovation project in 1998.

The medieval barn, located next to the English Heritage-owned Tithe Barn, will be used as a visitor and interpretation centre and will also be available to local organisations.

Architect on the project, Rhys Brookes, was thrilled with the way that the restoration has been faithful to the building's authentic character yet will be able to cater for modern use.

He said: "We've managed to dovetail contemporary use into a historical context. We've re-roofed the building and consolidated any ancient remains.

"We established the most important archaeological features and followed patterns we discovered to keep the building work as true to the original barn as possible."

Mr Brookes said the preservation society went "that extra mile" to make sure the restoration was carried out with overwhelming accuracy.

He said: "All of the roof tiles are hand made. They are completely new but are a great match to the originals. They will weather in a similar manner to the previous tiles.

"The clay came from Humberside and the tiles were manufactured using traditional methods they only produced 60 each day. The care and attention shown to get everything just right has been staggering."