Maryport may end up with two boats to replace one stolen from the Glasson estate roundabout.

The boat was decorated with poppies on October 28 as a mark of respect ahead of Armistice Day but was stolen by the following Monday.

Now local businessmen Syd Wood, of Maryport Car Centre, and Richard Stamper, of R Stamper Services, have offered to build, paint and erect a replacement themselves.

Last month Syd and Mary Wood offered a £300 reward for information leading to the recovery of the stolen property and the conviction of the person or people responsible, but nothing came of it.

Syd said: "It brightened up the entrance so it was a shame to see it gone."

The pair hope to work on their replacement after Christmas.

And Councillor Carni McCarron-Holmes, who had suggested the boat be decked with poppies, said the Lakes College students who had built the first boat had also offered to make a replacement.

Carol Tindall, finance chairwoman for Maryport town council, suggested that both options could be considered.

She added: "We could put a second boat somewhere else, perhaps at Grasslot."