Work has begun on the ‘demolition’ of Devon’s doomed fishing boat.

The hulk of the Accumulate has been tied up alongside the quay at Brixham Harbour for almost a decade, and all efforts to sell her have floundered.

Now the trawler that once sparked a major incident when she sank alongside the Embankment in Dartmouth is being taken away piece by piece. A special inflatable boom has been set up around her to prevent any risk of polluting the harbour.

The operation, being carried out by local demolition firm Gilpin, ends a saga which began one night in March 2016 when, under her former name of Saint Christophe I, the French trawler tied up alongside the Embankment in Dartmouth.

There was a conversation between her French crew and the local harbour staff about how she should be tied up in view of the fact that the tide was dropping. A government inquiry concluded that the language barrier had been such that the five-man fishing crew were unable to understand the dangers, and the boat duly grounded as the water fell.

She then toppled onto her side, sparking a major pollution alert in the River Dart. Large crowds gathered on the waterfront to watch the salvage operation.

Once salvaged, she was towed to Brixham harbour for repairs. She was sold to a new owner and re-named Accumulate, but plans for her future, which once included turning her into a floating disco, never came to anything.

Efforts to make contact with her new owners were fruitless, and at one point Torbay’s harbourmaster said he would happily sell her for a pound if it meant getting rid of her.

Now she is being taken to pieces at a ‘large cost’ to Torbay Council, and is sharing the harbour’s Middle Pier with the Chloe of Ladram, which was badly damaged after running aground on rocks at Berry Head earlier this year.

Writing on social media, the Tor Bay Harbour Authority said: “The demolition crew will remove her piece by piece. We won’t miss her.”