Town hall clock cost £32,000 but can you tell the time?

The giant work, which now adorns the side of a town hall, is meant to display hours, minutes and seconds with 20,000 tiny red lights in a square pattern.

But the £32,500 40-metre wide contraption has left passers-by in Barnsley, West Yorks, completely stumped.

Baffled councillor Malcolm Price said: “I saw some red lines and dashes and thought I must be on the wrong side of the building.



“In the end I just gave up, turned my head to the right and looked at the old Town Hall clock instead. I don’t think the Barnsley public will be able to make head nor tail of it. It’s a waste of money.”

For those willing to “take the time” to interpret its signals, there is a long line for minutes, a shorter line for hours and a red dot for seconds.

The clock’s “boss” Fergus Justice-Mills said: “It’s unique.”