Harbourmaster wants to sell sunken trawler for £1

The vessel was towed to Brixham Harbour after it sank in Dartmouth

A French fishing trawler which sank in a Devon harbour more than seven years ago could be sold for £1.

The Saint Christophe 1 sank at Dartmouth in 2016 after Dart Harbour staff encountered "language difficulties" when speaking to the vessel's five-man crew.

A report found both parties were unable to understand one another when discussing the danger of the boat grounding on the falling tide.

The vessel was refloated and towed to Brixham Harbour where it has been moored ever since.

The trawler capsized in Dart Harbour in low tide after seeking shelter from poor weather

The trawler is now the responsibility of Torbay Council as the harbour authority, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Harbourmaster Rob Parson said the authority was trying to "get rid" of it.

“We’d sell it for a pound,” he told this week's meeting of the harbour committee.

“People think we are just letting it sit there but we are actively trying to get rid of it.”

Mr Parson said it would cost about £50,000 to tow the vessel away from the harbour on top of breaking-up costs.

“It is very hard to do but we are actively trying to sort it out,” he added.

The saga began on 9 March 2016 when the Saint Christophe 1 was one of three French fishing vessels which sought shelter from bad weather at Dartmouth.

It was directed to berth alongside the quay wall and when the tide went out it grounded and capsized.

It flooded and sank with the incoming tide and was declared a write-off.

A Marine Accident Investigation Branch report said the lack of effective communication between Dart harbour authority staff and the vessel’s crew failed to ensure a common understanding of the fact that the boat would ground at low water.