Replacement steelwork for the next two bays of Ramsey pier could be lifted into position later this week.

The steel trusses were delivered by Mezeron to the compound at Queen’s Pier a week last Friday, having been shipped on the Silver River a few days before.

Project manager Dennis Curphey said that as the girders for bays seven and eight will be craned in from the beach, the big lift will have to wait until the tides are favourable - which should be this Friday or Saturday.

The operation will mark a major step in the completion of phase two of the ambitious restoration project.

Volunteers with the Queen’s Pier Restoration Trust signed a five-year lease with the government in July 2017 to restore the first three bays of the pier.

This was completed within four years, with the project quickly becoming a real community effort.

Since then the focus has been on phase, which goes up to bay eight, the trust having signed an extension to the lease in 2021.

Bays four and five were completed in time for an event to mark the King’s Coronation and bay six was finished last autumn.

If all goes to plan, bays seven and eight will be completed by the end of summer.

Volunteers are having to contend with the spiralling costs of materials. The cost of the steel has increased from £35,000 a bay to £56,000. Overall restoration was originally set to cost £4.5m, with each of the 60 bays estimated to cost £75,000 but this was before the recent price rises.

Replacement steelwork for the first few bays was craned in but for phase two a telehandler operating from the beach has been used.

There has been a steady stream of visitors to the pier which has been open weekday mornings for TT fortnight.