Action is underway to restore a Grade-II listed piece of Lakeland history after it was severely damaged by strong winds after standing tall for 90 years.

Automobile Association (AA) Sentry Box 487, which has braved the elements on Dunmail Raise, an exposed mountain pass between Grasmere and Thirlmere for almost a century, finally yielded to the high winds overnight on 29-30 January, leaving it laid on its side and badly damaged.

There were around 800 of these boxes erected throughout the UK between 1912 and 1953, and were nicknamed 'lighthouses of the road', for which AA members were given a universal key to access a telephone and other emergency items such as maps, fire extinguishers and even fuel.

The Grasmere Village and Langdale Valley Facebook Community Group said: "If only the box could talk - what a tale it would have to tell of desperate motorists stranded in vile weather, seeking help and shelter, and of the knights in shining armour who came to their rescue.

"A definitive list from the 1960s shows there were eighteen AA boxes in Cumberland and Westmorland.

"Number 487 is the sole survivor."

Polly Allen, who grew up in the area, had a special connection with the box: "My dad was the AA patrol man at Grasmere Lake by the fountain around 1949/50 - that's where my mum met him.

"My mum and her brother were born at Raise Cottage and the AA man at the time in the 30s/40s (I believe he was called Eddie) was their great friend.

"They spent many happy hours in his company and Mum would often reminisce about days gone by 'up the Raise'.

"She still remembers them now with great fondness even although she has Alzheimer's."

Box 487 has seen tragedy of a different kind - in a heavy snowstorm in 1963, a driver of an otherwise empty bus, Josh Winstanley, became stranded in the storm around a mile from the box.

Being an AA member, he was eventually forced to find box 487 to call for help, but the weight of the snow had downed all telephone lines within a seven-mile radius.

Josh took refuge in the box, but when the storm finally subsided four days later, a search party found him frozen to death, his hand still clutching the receiver.

On its restorations, an AA spokesperson said: "Some of our patrols who work in the area where box 487 is located had noticed it had been weakened in strong winds and secured it until it could be assessed by our maintenance team.

"The maintenance team have now carried out their assessment and will make further arrangements to move the box to their depot so it can be properly repaired.

"There are currently 19 AA sentry boxes across the U.K and all serve as local historic landmarks.

"The boxes are looked after by our maintenance teams and have a regular inspection / maintenance program."