THREE high-rise tower blocks on an Oldbury estate have been earmarked for a £6.6 million facelift - but tenants will have to wait until 2017.

The external refurbishment of Hackwood, Harry Price and Wallace House on the Lion Farm Estate feature at the end of the latest £43 million improvement programme put together by Sandwell Council.

The timetable has been drawn up according to the external condition of the 15 blocks, starting with the four worst in West Bromwich this August.

The three 13-storey flats were the first tower blocks to be built on the Lion Farm Estate in the early 1960s. A further six 16-storey blocks that followed were demolished between 1993 and 2000.

The council will spend a total of £67 million on high-rise flats up to 2022 as part of an overall £492 million housing investment programme over 10 years.