PARKS Department workers are winning their race against time to get the island's hurricane-damaged coastal beauty spots ready for the main tourist season.

Huge waves and winds of 150 miles per hour whipped up by Hurricane Fabian last September flattened trees and caused massive erosion damage to many of Bermuda's most popular beaches.

One of the worst hit areas was the most popular beach ? Horseshoe Bay.

Five months on from the most powerful storm to hit the island in 40 years, the new-look Horseshoe is in pristine condition, thanks to the efforts of Parks Department staff.

"We have been working here ever since the hurricane and a lot of man hours have gone into it," said Clark Tear, the acting superintendent of western parks for the Parks Department.

"We wanted it to be ready for the busy season and it looks great right now.

"People are surprised when they come down here because it looks so different. The beach is a lot bigger than it was and the entrances are bigger too."

The bigger beach area is a result of the erosion of the dunes at the back of the beach and the damage to the vegetation that supports them.

Mr. Tear said a lot of sand had been washed off the beach and into sea during the storm, but some of that sand had now been washed back ashore.

Seaweed has been an ally during the recovery period.

"People saw seaweed on the beach and wondered why we didn't clean it up," said Parks tractor driver George Phillips, who has been repairing the beaches island-wide.

"But it served a purpose. We flattened the seaweed down and it helped to hold the sand that was washed up. In that way it has helped us to build up the beach again. And we built up the entrance to the beach with a couple of boulders and packed sand on top. That has raised the level to protect the buildings here."

The effects of erosion have considerably widened the main entrance to Horseshoe, next to the beach's cafeteria. The sea infiltrated and flooded the parking lot and the wind brought down trees.

Months of hard work by the Parks Department crew, including foreman Granville Outerbridge, Carlton Hayward, Darling Young, Sean Simmons, David Martin and Anthony Tuzo, have cleaned the place up ready to welcome hordes of sun worshippers in the coming months. But there is still much to do.

"Ferry Reach hasn't been touched yet and neither has Church Bay," Mr. Tear said. "Getting access to Church Bay is going to be tricky.

"Some people have put in some steps so they can get down there, so we have put in temporary railing alongside to make it safer.

"Most of the trees have been cleaned up, but there is still a lot of debris and branches around.

"Warwick Long Bay has also been a difficult area for us to work. In the area we tried to work, the sand is so soft that the equipment was sinking. It's like working on quicksand!

"What we are trying to do everywhere is to keep things looking as natural as possible."

The amount of work made necessary by the hurricane has been added to by other, more avoidable, factors. "When campers pack up and go at the end of the summer, they usually leave a lot of trash and that makes extra work for us," Mr. Tear said.

"At Coney Island we found eight or ten mattresses and at Chaplin Bay there were a few tents and a lot of debris."

Another issue for the Parks Department is the scrambler racing taking place in the South Shore Park. "They race on the grass on what is supposed to be a camping and hiking area and cause damage," Mr. Tear said. "The police have heard reports of this happening, but the culprits are always gone by the time they get there." Mr. Tear asked that anyone who knew anything about motorcycle racing in the South Shore Park should report it to the police.