COUNCILLORS who commissioned a doomed play pirate ship are now looking for an “off-the-shelf” piece of equipment to replace it.

The ship, dubbed the Folly Roger by pranksters, was the centrepiece of a £70,000 revamp at Meadow Lane play area, East Oxford, but failed a safety inspection and was torn down in July.

Oxford City Council said while it commissioned the ship from Berinsfield firm SolidArt, it did not pay for it, as it did not meet the design brief.

The ship was made of larch planks, fitted with slides and gangplanks and was surrounded by a sand-pit.

Councillor Mark Lygo, executive board member for sport, play and schools liaison, said the authority was now looking for projects to spend the £8,000 budget on.

He said: “The council has advised that they are not prepared to pay for any work associated with the design or construction of the boat and as such the £8,000 budget remains available for a replacement item of play equipment for the park.”

He said the authority wanted a “replacement item of off-the-shelf play equipment in order to avoid the potential pitfalls associated with a bespoke item”.