Storms batter Weston, but these two intrepid walkers are undeterred - by Paula Palmer

SAND sculptures built on Weston beach as part of an annual festival have been damaged by the weekend’s storms.

Strong gales, heavy rain and rough seas battered Weston seafront on Friday and on parts of the weekend - as this reader-submitted video shows.

The storm took its toll on the Sand Sculpture Festival’s sculptures, with the head blown off one model and an arm destroyed on another.

But most of the sculptures survived unscathed, despite the festival being forced to close on Friday due to the extreme weather.

Organiser Nicola Wood said: “The fact that the sculptures have taken some damage shows that they are just sand and water and are vulnerable to the elements.

“I think it is interesting for the public to see how we repair them.

“The face fell off a clown in the circus sculpture and I made another one right there.

“Most of the sculptures have really surprised us and have stayed up without damage.”

The festival has just begun a competition for youngsters to design a toy of the future, with the winning entry set to be created in the sands in August.

To pick up an entry form, visit the festival, located between the Seafront office and the Seaquarium on the seafront before July 27.

This video was shot by Mercury reader Alan Hadley and submitted via our readers’ news site, Weston.iwitness24.co.uk

This photograph was sent in by Mercury reader Paula Palmer

To see a gallery of storm images, click the link at the top right of this page.

Some of the best readers’ pictures will be featured in Thursday’s Weston Mercury.