WEYMOUTH's popular sand gallery, which attracts thousands of tourists every year, is undergoing repairs after being damaged by storm weather and ‘pathetic’ vandals.
The current gallery, linked to Sandworld, has been based on the beach since 2012 and has featured several sand sculptures linked to popular culture, celebrities or historic events over the years.
Sand displays have been a mainstay of Weymouth beach since Fred Darrington started creating life-sized models to the enjoyment of residents and tourists around 100 years ago.
But scaffolding currently covers the sand gallery’s roof with debris on another scaffolding platform inside the attraction.
Recent torrential weather, coupled with objects being thrown at the attraction, had caused some damage to the corrugated sheets on its roof and its artwork. Rain has also got inside and damaged some of the carefully crafted sculptures.
Mark Anderson, the artist behind the attraction and Mr Darrington’s grandson, explained a mixture of vandalism and storm weather had forced him to repair the popular site during lockdown.
Fred began sculpting just after the First World War in the early 1920s. He passed away in 2002 at the age of 91, but Mark has continued following in his footsteps and co-founded Sandworld.
He said: “The sand gallery is being repaired after severe weather took part of the roof off early on in the season.
“There was some weather damage and a bit of 'idiot damage' to the sculptures due to the hole in the roof and a bit of more recent, roof debris damage to the dolphin sculptures.
“But on the whole, the new building is great and protecting the sculptures very well.
“The security camera system sponsored by Weymouth’s McDonald's branch has really helped with keeping the sculptures secure.”
The repairs, which have been ongoing since late October, aim to replace the PVC corrugated sheets with new sheets which will be screwed into supporting posts.
It is hoped that the repairs, which will be completed towards the end of November, will safeguard the tourist attraction for several years and protect its artwork from further damage.
Mr Anderson described the weather damage as a “nuisance” and “one of those things that we just deal with” - but he said the vandalism was devastating.
He added: “The wanton vandalism that has occurred over the years is very different.
“I believe that my late grandfather and teacher, 'The Weymouth Sand Man' Fred Darrington's stroke can be partially attributed to being the victim of vandalism - as you can imagine, if you put all of your time, love and energy into something of beauty that most people enjoy and admire only for it to then be destroyed in minutes.
“After this happens repeatedly over the years, for me, the fear of coming to the beach in the morning and seeing all of your work destroyed is devastating to the point of giving up.”
Rather than demolish the sand sculptures and create new artworks, Mr Anderson has instead opted to repair the existing display, which features characters from the Shrek franchise, two dolphins and a mythical Kelpie sea horse.
He hopes his displays preserve his grandfather's legacy and continues the unique Weymouth attraction.
He said: “The central sculpture was heavily weather damaged in the rain and I took the decision to repair that sculpture rather than create a new one.
“I've had so many sculptures vandalised over the years that I don't have the heart to put all of my energy and passion into something that will get damaged and so kept the old sculpture, repaired it and added a little to it.
“The dolphins have been damaged in the last couple of weeks, when the protective netting was lifted to allow for the scaffolding, it was hit a few times by projectiles and over the weekend took a bit more damage from roof debris.
“The sea horse Kelpie is a work in progress and is taking a considerable time to complete because of the layers, cuts and overall detail.
“It's definitely the most intricate piece of work that I have done in my 37 years on Weymouth beach!”
The attraction’s artwork is partially obstructed by the scaffolding but people can see and admire the sand sculptures.
Mr Anderson has also been touched by the support and encouragement of Weymouth residents, tourists and businesses in recent years for supporting the creation and management of the tourist attraction.
He said: “The suitable and relatively secure sand gallery, which is dedicated to the memory of my grandfather Fred, allows me to continue this 100-year old plus, free to see, family tradition.
“It brings smiles to the faces of generations of visitors to Weymouth and I'll hopefully be doing this until I'm as old as my Gramp when he stopped at 85 years old!
“It has been a very difficult year and I would like to say thank you to all our visitors and residents in supporting us and what we are trying to achieve with these sculptures.
“Hopefully, the coronavirus pandemic will be behind us and we will be back to normal soon.”
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