The long-awaited next batch of replacement steel for Queen’s Pier, Ramsey, has been delivered at last.

It means that, after months of frustrating but unavoidable delays, work can begin again on the restoration of the next two bays.

But all will depend on tides and the weather - and volunteers are hoping for a mild and calm autumn and early winter in order to get the new girders fitted quickly.

The Queen’s Pier Restoration Trust posted on Facebook: ‘All we need now is everything to come together.

‘Unfortunately, we cannot control the weather or the tides but rest assured the team will be on it as soon as possible.’

The steel for bays 9 and 10 was shipped with Mezeron from Glasson Dock and arrived in the island on Wednesday.

Bay 9 is the first of five of the wider, or stabilisation, bays along the pier. These stabilisation bays have a different design which include permanent seating around the outer edges of the decking platform.

Progress on the pier had been going well up to autumn last year.

But poor weather last winter delayed construction of the scaffolding platform which in turn delayed work to strip the old wood for bays 9 and 10 ready for the surveyor to measure up for the new steelwork.

An added problem has been that this far out along the pier, the centre girder cannot be reached by telehandler from the beach.

Volunteers together with the fabricator have come up with a design to lift a centre girder into place in smaller pieces and construct it in place.

Again, this has taken time to design and have it cleared through structural engineers.

The popular Sunday afternoon openings on the pier have now finished for the year.

Historical items from the pier including iron bollards have been retrieved from open air storage in Port Erin.