A POPULAR monument which was destroyed by a car and has since been restored to its former glory was officially unveiled on Sunday.

The historic fountain on the busy B1383 was extensively damaged in December when a car swerved off the road and smashed into it.

It took six months to complete the �23,000 repair works – carried out by local firm Tusks Carpentry – and, at the weekend, a celebratory re-opening ceremony was attended by around 40 villagers.

Resident Maureen Hawkins, whose late husband Roger was chairman of the parish council and helped with the original restoration work, cut the ribbon to re-open the landmark, which has taken pride of place in the village since 1887.

Mrs Hawkins said: “The fountain is very important for the village and, although the fountain has long since been sealed up, it still serves as a useful function, as well as being very elegant.”

Chairman of Quendon Parish Council Alan Price added: “This is a very important day, not just for the villagers of Quendon and Rickling, but others who travel along this road.

“It has been here a long time and is something the villagers are very proud of.”

Mr Price cited the incident as highlighting the need to tackle speeding and dangerous driving on the B1383 through the village. The parish council has managed to get the speed limit reduced to 30mph and install a vehicle activated sign entering the village from the Stansted direction.

But he said that more needs to be done.

“Speeding is a problem because it is a straight stretch of road. A lot of motorists adhere to the limit, but some do not,” he said.

“We are still trying to get highways to get physical traffic calming measures in place.”