A PIECE of Gainsborough’s history which has stood rotting for nearly 50 years has been saved from the scrap yard.

The 54-year-old, Marshalls Series Two Road Roller, has been rusting away in field in a South East Cornwall village.

Visitors to Seaton had always been greeted with the sight of the slowly decaying machine for the past 44 years.

And after being abandoned in a field next to the village car park, the road roller has finally been taken to a new home, where it will be restored to its former glory.

The 10-tonne machine was last owned by John Steward, who used it throughout the West Country in his building development business.

After being contacted by John’s son-in-law, Derek Elliot, road roller expert Geoff Ashley, from St Dennis in Cornwall, decided to take on the restoration project.

Geoff, 71, said: “I have so many projects going on at the moment that I will need to live until I am 120 to finish them all!

“This project, I believe, will take around three years to complete.

“Some parts, such as the gearing and controls, are not readily available so they will have to be specially made – but I can do that.

“Some of the other pieces can be bought in quite readily, so they won’t be a problem.”

Geoff, a member of the Road Rollers Association, also said they had a major problem just getting the heavy plant out of the field, where it had laid for so long.

“It was so seized up that we had to winch it onto a lorry and then get a crane to take it off at the other end. Absolutely nothing would move.

“It is going to be a big project, but anything at all to do with road rollers instantly grabs my attention,” he said.

The roller was first registered on March 11, 1954 by R Dingle of Stoke Climsland, near Callington.

Surrounded by brambles, the machine had stood dormant until Derek and his family decided to tidy up the site. They contacted a local scrap yard, believing the road roller was beyond restoration.

But Geoff was soon informed and now plans to bring it back to show condition.

The Marshalls Series 2 Road Roller was built by engineering giants Marshalls Sons and Co in Gainsborough.

The company, first founded in 1848 by William Marshall, was at the forefront of internal combustion engine tractors and stationary oil design in England.