Time finally up for 'unloved' Sunderland clock which stood in city centre for 33 years, but never worked

The clock, which had two faces, each around two metres diameter, was installed above a branch of the Alliance and Leicester Building Society in 1990.

The corner building is now occupied by bookmakers Coral, although the Echo understands that the premises are owned by a Guernsey-registered property company.

The clock’s Waterloo Place face pointed for years to one minute past one, while the Athenaeum Street face insisted that it could only ever be 20 to something; the something was unspecified as its hour hand had disappeared.

An old adage says that a broken clock is at least correct twice a day. However, due to the disparity of the times on the two faces, even that small consolation could not be achieved.

The clock had been located only metres from Sunderland’s new £26million railway station, which opens soon. It was not generally felt to complement the look of the swish new station. An Echo opinion piece in April referred to the timepiece as a “scruffy, purposeless eyesore”.

It added: “(The visual impact of) the new railway station could be undermined somewhat when the first thing visitors clap eyes on at street level is the perfectly hideous clock dial above a bookies in Athenaeum Street.”

The redundant-at-birth clock has seen two centuries and nine prime ministers, while Sunderland AFC were either promoted or relegated on 12 occasions. It is not yet known if it will be replaced.

The Echo has asked anyone who might lament the clock’s disappearance to get in touch; but they are yet to respond.