Time stands still on Brierley Hill clock

Time stands still in a Black Country town centre where clocks have stopped ticking, causing confusion for shoppers.

Each of the four clock faces in Brierley Hill High Street tells the wrong time.

Now after years of not working traders say it is timely for the clocks to be fixed as the town has been designated the hub of the borough.

The tower, which is a focal point in the Moor Centre, is the responsibility of the centre management but has been the butt of jokes in the past because the four faces have never told the correct time for than a few weeks at a stretch.

Acting chairman of the Brierley Hill Traders, Shane Birch-Bastock, aged 42, said he understood a problem with the power supply was the reason for the timepieces running more than two hours in front.

Mr Bastock who also owns Concord Market in the High Street said: "It is an ongoing issue and over the years a lot of traders and customers have complained about it.

"You don't know where in the world you are when you look at the faces as each one shows a different time.

"I think with all the regeneration plans for the High Street now is a good time to get the clocks repaired."

Shopkeeper Rob Mantle who runs BHF Florist and Coffee Uno in the High Street said it was a "source of irritation" that every time he passes the clocks they are telling the wrong time.

The 58-year-old said: "The clock tower is a nice feature in the High Street and it's a shame none of them work.

"It is a source of irritation every time I pass them and it's a good job I wear a wrist watch so I don't have to rely on them.

"There really is no excuse for them not to be working, surely it would only be a few pounds to get them going again?"

The impressive 40ft-high steel structure cost thousands of pounds to erect and has been the gateway to the centre since the nineties.

No one from the centre management team responded to several requests for a comment about the fault with the clock.