Fishergate bollard and his mates are set for a return to Preston

The infamous Fishergate Bollard is coming back - but not really by public demand.

Highways chiefs have decided the troublesome road marker will make a return in the next few days, along with three of his mates who have all been missing for months.

Despite strong rumours that the concrete posts in Preston’s shared space scheme would finally be deemed “a load of bollards” and dumped by the new Tory administration at County Hall, a decision to bring them back now looks to be set in stone.

“They should be reinstated either at the end of this week or early next week following the planned completion of work elsewhere,” revealed a spokesperson for Lancashire County Council.

The decision might be welcomed by fans of the Fishergate Bollard which became something of a social media celebrity with its own Twitter site set up a year ago this week - it now has more than 2,000 followers.

But it is unlikely to be greeted by motorists, many of whom seem incapable of missing the traffic markers as they negotiate the junctions between Fishergate and both Corporation Street and Butler Street.