THE VALE Council has said it has no plans to clean a monument honouring Barry men who served at sea during the World Wars.

Robert Burn, of Barry Road, and John Stringer said the Memorial to the Merchant Seamen of Barry, outside the Civic Offices, erected in 1996, was in a “disgusting” state.

Robert, 62, said: “I’ve never been in the forces, but it doesn’t mean I don’t respect the forces. It’s disgusting. The council is there to do certain things.

A Vale Council spokesman said: “Some weathering of the monument is natural and to be expected. The Vale of Glamorgan Council has received no complaints about the condition of the Merchant Navy Memorial. Cleaning the monument requires the Council to employ specialist contractors and there are no plans to do this in the near future.”

The monument was dismantled and professionally restored in 2012.