Banbury narrowboat sinks after 'slowest hit and run'

The 1940s vessel had to be raised a second time by a team at Tooley's Boatyard

A 78-year-old wooden narrowboat retrieved from a canal bed has had to be raised for a second time after it sank following a "hit and run".

The 1940s vessel called Hardy was being restored by Tooley's Boatyard in Banbury, Oxfordshire. It is believed to have been hit by a passing boat.

Matt Armitage said he was "completely gutted" when he heard it had sunk.

In May he helped raise the 70ft former coal barge in Braunston, Northamptonshire.

It had been languishing on the canal bed there after falling into disrepair and being abandoned in 2014.

It was towed back to Banbury where it was cleared of debris, stripped and cleaned.

The narrowboat is currently in dry dock for emergency repairs

Mr Armitage, who is author of Forging Ahead - A History of Tooley's Boatyard, said Hardy was the last vessel built by the Nurser family.

It once delivered coal to Banbury from the Midlands.

Mr Armitage described Hardy's latest accident, which happened at about 12:00 BST on Sunday, as the "slowest hit-and-run in the country".

"We had a team of volunteers who helped restore Hardy and we all jumped in and got lots of pumps going.

"Eventually we managed to get the water up high enough and plug the holes, and we created some space in the dry dock.

"We've found the impact damage and we're patching that up and we're using the opportunity to put a few plates on to make the boat a lot more stable."

The team is fundraising to restore Hardy to its former glory, and aims to resume work in October.

Before the sinking Hardy had been cleared of debris, stripped and cleaned