The much-mocked boat decorating a key Wewyn Garden City road junction has been repaired at a cost of thousands of pounds.

The boat, the butt of regular ridicule since installation on a Stanborough Road roundabout in 2007, has been repaired by the borough council after a car hit it last year.

A spokeswoman said the cost of £6,000 was entirely met by an insurance claim.

Former borough councillor Dennis Lewis told the Welwyn Hatfield Times: “They should have used the money to see if it would work as a submarine, because a lot of people think it should be thrown in the lake.”