A HISTORIC monument which was destroyed by a car has been restored to its former glory.

The fountain takes pride of place in the centre of Quendon, on the busy B1383, but suffered extensive damage in December when a car swerved off the road and smashed into it.

Now repairs have been completed, villagers are hoping to see more action to tackle speeding and dangerous driving.

Quendon Parish Council has taken steps against speeding in recent years: it has secured permission to lower the limit to 30mph in 2009, set up a community speed watch programme and installed a vehicle activated sign entering the village from the Stansted direction.

But chairman Alan Price said: “Speeding will always be an issue in Quendon because the route which runs through the village is a long straight road.

“We do go out in our yellow jackets with the speed gun and report speeding drivers to the police which is a deterrent. The parish council is having various conversations with the Highways authority about slowing the traffic through the village.

“We are hoping to install a vehicle activated sign at the north end of the village. Hopefully that will help slow traffic.”

It has taken six months to get the monument back in order. The �23,000 repair work, the vast majority of which was covered by insurance, was carried out by Tusk Carpentry and Building Services from Saffron Walden.

“It is great to see it restored. A few people have noticed that the repairs do not blend in perfectly but I thinks it’s nice to see the honesty of it,” said Cllr Price.

“Tusk were able to do the stonemasonry work that was needed to the fountain as well as the fix the wooden supports. They have done a fantastic job.”