Bemused visitors to Dockyard could be forgiven for thinking the tourist attraction is quite literally caught in a timewarp.

Mechanical problems at the southern tower mean that some of the four faces on the clock are telling different times.

This has left visitors and staff at the former British naval yard in the west end scratching their heads if they look up to check the time.

Now the West End Development Corporation (Wedco), which has responsibility for the clocks, is calling in the British company which manufactured the clocks to carry out an overhaul.

A Wedco spokesman said high winds and salt deposits had caused the machinery to seize up, so the clocks are not keeping accurate time. The motor on the western clock face does not work at all and will have to be replaced. The Wedco spokesman said it was hoped the British clock company will repair the machinery later this year.

Tick, tock: Late or not? These two faces appear to be several minutes apart on the Dockyard tower clock.

Clock this: Is it noon or is it just gone 11 a.m.? Two of the four clocks above Dockyard tell different times.