WORK to improve the safety of the damaged tidal gate at Watchet Marina was carried out this week.

Sam Westmacott, spokesman for Watchet Harbour Marina, which operates the facility, said the gate, which has been out of action for at least seven weeks since a major mechanical failure, was "unsafe", with the recent high winds and storms not helping the situation.

She told the Free Press on Wednesday that marina engineer Mike Northbrook had co-ordinated the job of moving the gate into a safer position.

A range of options for repairing the seven-ton gate have been under consideration since the damage happened.

Marina manager James Burnell said the gate had now been lowered to the seabed to ensure it was more stable. And contractors should be appointed by the end of this week with a view to lifting it out.

The likely option is that this will be achieved by bringing an excavator into the harbour and to the gate via the West Street beach.

Mr Burnell said he expected to take a day dredging and clearing the mud to create a path for the excavator, with the lifting out operation likely to take between one and two days.

"But we can only work when the tide is completely out so in reality we are expecting to have a maximum four hours a day," he said.

Russ Digby from Kenneth Grub Associates Ltd, who designed the gate, visited the site this week and has been helping to plan the next steps.

And Mr Burnell has also had help from civil engineer Pete Clist, who project managed the construction of the gate in 2001.

Once the gate has been removed it will undergo extensive and detailed examination by insurance assessors and experts to assess the extent of the damage.

A decision is then expected to be made on whether it can be repaired or will have to be replaced.

Mr Burnell said the lifting out operation would have to be timed to take account of the tides but he hoped the work could take place in the next few weeks.

"Things are progressing at a much slower pace than I would like but at least we know what we hope to do now.

"We remain positive."