A FONT of local knowledge has told how the proposed removal of a dilapidated Greenock landmark for vital restoration is a case of history repeating — half-a-century on.

Council chiefs are exploring the possibility of taking the 140-year-old town centre Lyle Fountain away for a spruce up after discovering their £130,000 budget for doing the work in situ fell 'significantly' short.

Now a respected former town councillor has contacted the Tele to reveal how a virtually identical project on the grand Victorian structure was carried out in the early 1970s.

Jim Hunter, 87, told how it led to 11th-hour drama to 'camouflage' the vacant spot in Cathcart Square because the BBC were coming the next day to shoot a film of the town.

Jim — who was Greenock's parks superintendent at the time — said: "There were just iron posts left sticking up out of the ground and the council chief executive at the time, J.D. Smith, didn't want them to be seen.

"What we did was cut branches off of yew trees in the cemetery and use them to camouflage the posts, so what appeared in the film just looked like trees.

"It was a last-minute job because I got the call just the day before the BBC came to town."

The national broadcaster was in Greenock to mark the transition from town councils to Inverclyde District Council as part of local government reorganisation that brought about the wider Strathclyde Regional Council as well.

Jim and then planning boss Alastair McDougall worked together to have the fountain removed to a blacksmith in Kilmacolm — as well as the tree-mendous overnight film set build.

He said: "The fountain was in a very bad state, much as it is now, with all its motifs and other ironwork rusting and in need of a good clean.

"I can't remember how much it cost, but it came out of £8,000 of funding we received from the Scottish Development Agency — so, clearly not a patch on what needs to be spent on it now.

"It was away for nigh-on 18 months because it required very delicate work to get it just right, but when it returned to the square it was absolutely superb — looking brand new."

Currently, Inverclyde Council wants to again return the fountain — gifted to the town by sugar magnate Abram Lyle in 1880 — to its former glory.

But the only contractor deemed suitable to conduct the restoration has come back with a price tag in excess of the money the local authority has set aside.

The cost figure is not contained in an official report.

The council is now exploring the possibility of re-tendering for the work and allowing the fountain to be removed off-site for the work to be carried out.

The report states: 'This would assist in avoiding winter working and potentially reduce overall timescale and cost.'

Abram Lyle founded the Lyle sugar refinery, which was later merged with Henry Tate's rival refinery to form the Tate & Lyle brand, which continues to exist today.

Mr Lyle was Greenock's provost from 1876 to 1879 before he moved to London and established a refinery which produced his famous golden syrup.

The Lyle Fountain has an ornamental dome which featured the crests of 18 prominent Greenock families, including Ardgowan, Watt and Morton.

Another fountain, the Jubilee font on Ashton Promenade, was restored in 2019.