Crowds gathered on St George's Day to see a lovingly restored carving of the saint officially unveiled on the Falmouth building that bears his name, a decade after it was smashed.

A year of painstaking work has seen the carving, of unknown origins, restored to St George's Arcade looking shiny and new, with the saint himself painted in what the restorer has said is the classical style - nude except for sandals and helmet.

Years of campaigning by the Falmouth Civic Society had led to antiques restorer Garry Springfield and painter Julian Beesley rejuvenating the figure, which was left broken in the street after a drunken prank went awry in 2005.

Mr Springfield, who described the carving as "iconic" and remembers people stopping for photographs when he ran a shop in the arcade, said at first it seemed "a formidable task."

He said: "There were so many bits, and so many bits missing."

He added that the carving, which he estimates could be up to 160 years old, was "full of rot and old repairs... falling to bits in quite a bad way."

He disassembled the parts, and put them back together, adding new carving where necessary, before Mr Beesley repainted the carving, including a St George who is head-to-toe flesh toned.

Mr Springfield said that was how he had always remembered the piece, although during the restoration he found evidence it had once been gilded.

He said: "He's a classical St George as opposed to a medieval one, he wouldn't have worn armour.

"He strikes me as being mid 19th century, but I'm not an expert.

"It's possible it might be a ships carving. The Harris brothers who built the arcade were also ship breakers, from what I've been told. If that's the case its possible that's where the carving came from."

He added: "It was nice to see it back up there and it adds a bit of colour."

Angela Beale, secretary of the Falmouth Civic Society, said: "We were extremely pleased with the turn out.

"The restoration work by Garry Springfield and Julian Beesley was wonderful, a real labour of love... considering what they were left with.

"Everyone seemed very pleased to see it again, it created quite a bit of interest."

The carving was unveiled on Saturday by the deputy mayor Grenville Chapel, along with a plaque with the names of subscribers who helped fund the restoration.

The project was initiated by the Falmouth Civic Society, which has said no photographs exist of the St George’s Hall prior to 1963 with the emblem in place, and members are trying to trace its heritage.

Anyone who has any ideas about the carving's history can contact the society at falmouthcivicsociety@gmail.com or via their Facebook page.