Move to make Shugborough mansion lightning-proof

Plans have been drawn up to make a historic Staffordshire building and tourist attraction lightning proof.

Bosses at the Shugborough estate are worried that the Grade I-listed hall could burn to the ground if lightning struck, along with a wealth of historic items, if measures are not introduced to make the main building lightning proof.

The site is National Trust-owned and run by Staffordshire County Council which has looked at plans to place 31 lightning conductors on the historic building, and its associated stable block, to protect the hall from future lightning strikes by placing "drops" on the external walls.

If the work goes ahead after Cannock Chase Council's planning chiefs have had a chance to study and approve the plans, the work to make the building lightning proof should take between four to five weeks.

The structure of the main hall is said to have a "conductive nature" and there is a concern that a lightning strike could also cause the loss of human life.