Preston's infamous Fishergate Bollard is back . . . and what a bobby-dazzler he looks after his makeover

The craggy-faced road marker, who has been a smash hit with motorists over the past six years, is returning to police the city centre's most troublesome road junction.

And it is fair to say even his biggest fans (he has 3,700 followers on Twitter) will struggle to recognise him after an amazing makeover by highways bosses at nearby County Hall.

For a start the concrete exterior has been replaced by cold steel to make him even tougher.

The iconic figure has been completely redesigned to make sure he is more visible and far less of a pushover than he has been in the past.

Now, after months of speculation that Preston had seen the last of the Fishergate Bollard and his five much-maligned mates, work has begun to bring them back to the city's main shopping street at its junction with Corporation Street and Butler Street.

The new-look markers, which are meant to highlight three pedestrian crossing points, will include a reflective red rose and lettering for added increased visibility.

A surround at the base is designed to help reduce the likelihood and impact of any collision.

Workmen began the job of replacing the six bollards today (Monday) and it could take up to two weeks before the job is finished.

"These bollards have become a well-known landmark in the city," said Coun Keith Iddon, LCC's cabinet member for highways and transport.

"There's been lots of media coverage and even reviews on Tripadvisor recognising them as a local attraction.

"Some people have been calling for the bollards to come back, after they were knocked off in collisions.

"We're hoping that this makeover will help to increase awareness of them, but for the right reasons this time.

"These safety features are very important, as they mark out the crossings and protect people as they cross the road. If a bollard is hit, then it's not a person being hit, which is the purpose of them being there.

"We'd prefer these incidents didn't happen at all and that's why we’ve updated the design.

"There have been a number of incidents involving the bollards, so we looked carefully at the details of the collisions that we know about and came up with these improvements to try to stop further incidents from happening."

Numerous drivers have come to grief on the bollards since they were first introduced in 2014 as part of Preston's controversial "shared space" system.

The one which took the most hits - at the corner of Corporation Street - became famous when it's own Twitter account was launched and it was even nominated as a "City Star" in the Smiles Better Awards.

It is now recognised as an official tourist attraction on Google and there are rumours it could even have its own square when the Preston City version of the board game Monopoly is released this autumn.

LCC says it has lane closures in place while the new bollards are being installed, however reduced levels of traffic at the moment mean that any disruption is expected to be "minimal."

The new bollards are 1.5m tall, and 1.2m wide at the base. They will be bolted securely to the existing stone bases, which themselves have been strengthened with a concrete infill.

Work is already ongoing to replace the flagstone pavements over the railway bridge with buff-coloured asphalt to match the surrounding area.

Some minor changes to bus services which are already in place for this work will continue, with city-bound buses being diverted via Bow Lane, Marsh Lane and Ringway, and the bus stop opposite the main railway station entrance being temporarily moved to Bow Lane.

Work will also take place to repair damaged surfaces of roads and pavements in the vicinity in order to minimise any disruption in the future.