One of Britain's best-known windmills, seen on the cover of millions of books, has been given a grant of £41,800 for new sails.

The money will enable the outside of Rottingdean windmill to be restored and preserved as a landmark.

Once the restoration is completed, the windmill will be opened to the public.

Work can start in the spring, when the mill celebrates its bi-centenary.

The windmill on Beacon Hill, overlooking the village, is known throughout the world and its silhouette is used as the trademark for publishers William Heinemann.

The grant is part of a Government commitment to preserving windmills, which are seen as a vital part of Britain's industrial heritage.

Since 1995, more than £3 million has been given to preserve windmills throughout Britain.

Last week, the windmill at Windmill Hill, near Hailsham, one of the largest windmills in Britain and the tallest in Sussex, was given a grant of £577,000.

The cash from the National Lottery Heritage Fund for the Rottingdean windmill will enable the new sails, or sweeps as they are called in Sussex, to be made.

Even though the sweeps will be restored, they will not be turning as they did throughout the 19th Century, grinding the corn for flour, because the machinery inside the mill has been removed.

The money will also be used for improvements inside the mill, so it can open to the public on selected Saturdays and Sundays throughout the year.

The restoration of the sails will be the culmination of two years' work to save the windmill and ensure it stands up to the elements on one of the most exposed parts of the Sussex coast.

Throughout 1999, three experienced Sussex millwrights, Paul Rigden, Tim Harman and Adam Dobson, worked on the wooden structure. Three support posts were put in to stop it collapsing.

News of the grant delighted the Rottingdean Preservation Society, which leases the mill from Brighton and Hove City Council.

The society is responsible for the upkeep of the windmill and has already spent £58,000 on its preservation.

The total cost of making and installing the new sails will be in the region of £55,000, meaning the preservation society will have to raise around £13,000.

Brighton and Hove City Council has already agreed to extend the society's lease on the mill.

John Cooper, chairman of the society, said: "We are delighted at the grant. We have a lot to do to ensure this windmill is restored and then regularly opened to the public."