Shining bright once again, the lighthouse left to fade to grey: Beachy Head landmark finally gets a lick of paint after celebrities raise £30,000 for makeover Work underway on striking red and white striped landmark in East Sussex Follows campaign to repaint lighthouse after it was left to fade due to costs A massive £27,000 raised by locals and celebrities, including Eddie Izzard, John Craven and Bill Bryson, for the cause Lighthouse has been unmanned and monitored remotely since 1983 Work has got under way to repaint the striking red and white stripes on a landmark lighthouse in East Sussex. In a campaign backed by Eddie Izzard, John Craven and Bill Bryson, more than £27,000 was raised to pay for the revamp of the Beachy Head lighthouse in Eastbourne, which has finally begun after a delay earlier in the week due to poor weather. The fundraising campaign was launched after Trinity House, which oversees shipping safety and navigational aids around Britain's coastline, said the lighthouse was no longer needed as a daymark - the reason for its eye-catching appearance. Bright: The Beachy Head Lighthouse near Eastbourne, Sussex, is being repainted this week Hard at work: Engineers work at the top of the landmark to restore it to its former glory Restoration: £27,000 was raised by campaigners, including Eddie Izzard, to work on the lighthouse Consequently, its distinctive stripes were to be left to fade because of the cost of repainting it. However, locals stepped in to raise the money needed to give it a fresh look. Campaign co-ordinator Shirley Moth said: 'We have been thrilled by the support the campaign has received. Once we started it, we realised how many people have great affection for the lighthouse. 'It's a part of Sussex, and in the end we received support from all over the world, including donations from America and Canada.' The lighthouse has sat more than 500ft below the summit of the infamous chalk cliffs of Beachy Head since being brought into service in 1902. Supplies: Paint and more equipment is brought by boat to the lighthouse yesterday Before and after: The landmark had been looking increasingly grey, left, but today looked much brighter, right Designed under the direction of Sir Thomas Matthews, the then engineer-in-chief of Trinity House, it is made of 3,660 tonnes of fine Cornish granite. It was automated and de-manned in June 1983 and is monitored remotely 24 hours a day by Trinity House's operations and planning centre at Harwich, Essex. Trinity House has previously defended the decision not to repaint the lighthouse, saying it had a duty to ensure all its expenditure was justified. Support: Comedian Eddie Izzard, left, and author Bill Bryson, right, gave money to the campaign Back in time: A black and white image shows the lighthouse after it was built in 1902