WORK to repair a nationally important battlefield monument that has suffered at the hands of vandals has got under way.

The obelisk, which stands on the site of the Battle of the Standard - where King David I of Scotland was defeated by an army of Yorkshiremen, in 1138 - has been deteriorating since last May.

The structure, on the A167 road just outside Northallerton, in North Yorkshire, had been attacked by vandals, with thieves then adding to the problems by ripping down a bronze plaque commemorating the bloody battle, which is thought to have claimed 12,000 lives.

But now stonemasons have moved on to the site to repair the monument and prepare it for a new plaque.

An information board detailing the history of the site is also to be erected.

The £3,600 project is a joint venture between Hambleton District Council and North Yorkshire County Council