Missing mermaid found... in Billericay

A mermaid statue made to commemorate the first British settlers in America has turned up at an auction in Billericay after going missing for 50 years.

The bronze was commissioned in 1950 to mark the spot in Docklands from which three boats set off for the New World.

Then a power station was built nearby, the area became neglected and the mermaid disappeared from its plinth.

This week it reappeared at the auction of dealer Alan Marks's entire collection. He bought the near lifesize statue from a man in Hatfield Heath 15 years ago and since then it has sat in his back garden.

Mr Marks decided to sell it because he was moving but it failed to reach its £1,500 reserve.

Barratt Homes redeveloped the area into Virginia Quay and spent £90,000 rebuilding the monument, commissioning a bronze mariner's astrolabe in place of the mermaid.

The builder said: "We'd be interested in looking at the mermaid for historical purposes but after building a new monument we won't want to replace it."