BATTERED but unbowed having withstood a broadside worthy of Trafalgar, Hereford's very own Nelson's Column should be shipshape in time for the bicentenary of that famous battle.

But local history buffs accuse Herefordshire Council of turning a blind eye to the whereabouts of a scroll commemorating the naval hero's visit to the city and granting of its freedom in 1802.

Both Herefordshire and Hereford City councils are now searching for the scroll having been told about it by the Hereford Times.

As yet there has been no sign of a document that heritage campaigner Keith James believes was kept in the old city council chamber, has its own box and should be 'somewhere' in Herefordshire Council's care.

Nelson's Column was put up by public subscription on Castle Green in 1809. There was not enough money to add the Admiral's image so an urn had to do instead.

The memorial has made a tempting target for vandalism over recent years ranging from chunks hacked off the base plinth to obscene graffiti.

Security fencing set up around the column should soon become permanent provided appropriate approvals are in place, said Herefordshire Council property services manager Colin Birks.

That project alone will cost between £12,000-£15,000.

There are no estimates on repairs to the column's seriously eroded stonework, but it is hoped to have this job done in time for the planned national 200th anniversary of Trafalgar celebrations next year.

Celebrations that Hereford City Council has registered an interest in being part of said town clerk Martin Fellows.