Boris Johnson's water cannons sold to Tuxford reclamation firm

Three water cannon bought and refurbished for more than £320,000 while Boris Johnson was London Mayor have been sold to a Tuxford reclamation company for £11,000.

The vehicles were purchased from German Federal Police in 2014 for £85,000 by Mr Johnson for crowd-control after the 2011 riots, and then refurbished and refitted.

Mr Johnson offered to be blasted by one of them to reassure people of their safety.

Refurbishment costs included £32,004 for low emission zone compliance, £19,035 for re-painting, £3,109 for signage, and £970 for the fitting of radios and CD players.

They were then consigned into storage.

The water cannon were on the market since December 2016 and were snapped up by Reclamations Ollerton Ltd for £11,025.

It is understood they will be dismantled and the parts exported.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said funds from the sale are to be invested in projects to tackle the root causes of serious violent crime in the capital.

The use of water cannon was banned in riot situations in England and Wales in 2015 by Theresa May, who was then the Home Secretary.

Mrs May used the purchase to ridicule Mr Johnson in the Tory leadership race following David Cameron's resignation.

Mr Khan said: “For too long, London taxpayers have had to bear the brunt of Boris Johnson’s appalling botched water cannon deal.

"This has been another waste of taxpayers’ money by Boris Johnson.

"Londoners continue to live with his vanity.

"I am pleased we have managed to finally get rid of them and I made an election promise to Londoners that I would claw back as much of this cash as possible, and pump it into helping young people at risk of being affected by crime and giving them better life opportunities."

The Advertiser has tried to contact Reclamations Ollerton Ltd, but nobody was answering the phone.