A HISTORIC Fenland lighthouse is once again to be the centre for an art exhibition is in aid of charity. Cdr David Joel will open the doors of his Sutton Bridge lighthouse home for an art exhibition from August 24-31 in aid of Sir Peter Scott s Wild Fowl

A HISTORIC Fenland lighthouse is once again to be the centre for an art exhibition is in aid of charity.

Cdr David Joel will open the doors of his Sutton Bridge lighthouse home for an art exhibition from August 24-31 in aid of Sir Peter Scott's Wild Fowl and Wetlands Trust.

Admission is £1 for adults (children free) and the exhibition opens daily from 10am to 4pm.

Cdr Joel says visitors will also be able to enjoy the spectacle of his 35 geese who share both his passion for Sutton Bridge and its proximity to water!

"We've had a good breeding season for geese- there are 35 flying geese who may or may not perform," he said. "We have some rare geese you rarely see including the flying barnacle and show geese. There are also red breasted geese- who don't fly but their children do- and these are on the world's endangered species list."

Art exhibition

Sutton Bridge's East Lighthouse - once home to well-known conservationist and painter Sir Peter Scott - was saved from dereliction by Commander David Joel 20 years ago.

Sir Peter - son of Scott of the Antarctic - lived in the lighthouse from 1933 to 1939, painting dramatic oil paintings of the wildfowl which flocked to the remote Lincolnshire outpost.

When Cdr Joel bought the lighthouse in 1985 it had been derelict for years, having been boarded up in the 1970s by Anglian Water when its last tenant left and no one else could be found to live in it.

But an etching in a concrete lintel by Sir Peter remained and gradually the commander has brought the house back to life, with his own paintings and others by Scott.

Some of Scott's paintings will be on show - and not for sale-but there will also be many others by local artists which can be bought.