AN historic wall which collapsed during a storm will be rebuilt after volunteers hand-cleaned its 5,000 bricks.

The 300-year-old bricks came from the18th Century wall at Gibside, which was brought down in a storm in 2013.

But volunteers have sorted them one-by-one, cleaned mortar off each of them and polished and stacked them ready for use as work gets underway.

The volunteers have saved The National Trust almost £4,400, which it would have cost to custom make replacements.

Head ranger Helen McDonald said, “We can’t thank the conservation volunteers enough, they worked extremely hard to get the job done. We couldn’t have done it without them.”

The restored bricks will be used as part of a two-year project to develop the Walled Garden at the historic estate

Head gardener Debbie Crombie said, “Built in 1734 using bricks made at Gibside, the Walled Garden has come a long way since functioning as Gibside’s car park.

“Now, there’s flowers blossoming, an observation hive has been installed; rows of apple trees planted and vegetable plots have been created and are used by the local communities, as well as the Gibside Community Farm.

“Many regulars use fresh ingredients grown in the garden, especially the catering staff for desserts sold in the café, and one of the residents with an office at The Stables uses them in her handmade soaps.

The surviving parts of the original wall have now been surveyed and the 5,000 restored bricks will be supplemented with 10,000 new handmade bricks to replace those cracked and broken during the original fall.

Work is expected to take around 10 weeks to complete.