Dartmouth is getting an entirely new Royal Avenue Gardens fountain as a royal jubilee gift.

The town's old Dartmothians had been looking at giving the existing fountain a major makeover as part of the royal diamond jubilee celebrations later this year.

But they have decided to fund an entirely new fountain instead.

The Dartmouth organisation is planning to spend up to £10,000 on the new fountain and has already lined up a volunteer team of skilled tradesmen to carry out the work, revealed Old Dartmothians secretary Richard Rendle.

Part of the old fountain will be saved and set up just a few yards away next to the town's war memorial, he explained. He pointed out that parts of the old fountain are cracked and the large bowl at the base where visitors throw their money is made up of old rubble and concrete and cost the old Dartmouth Borough Council just £21 when it was constructed.

He said the second tier bowl – which is the only original piece of the fountain built in 1888 to mark Queen Victoria's golden jubilee celebrations – was being saved and set up elsewhere in the gardens.

'The idea is to remove the whole fountain, concrete the area to make it flat with a new base and then put the new fountain there,' said Mr Rendle.

'It will include new services, new water supply, new electricity and lighting.'

He said that local councillors Jonathan Hawkins and Hilary Bastone were contributing £500 each to the project, while fellow councillor Melvyn Stone was handing over £400 from their respective council funds.

Mr Rendle said: 'We have had a love affair with the old fountain for the last 20 years to try and keep it going, but it is a hotchpotch of repairs and it is malfunctioning and losing water.

'The new fountain will be something the Old Dartmothians want to celebrate the jubilee with.'

He said it would be unveiled in time for the national diamond jubilee celebrations later this year. Visitors throw up to £700 a year in to the old fountain, which is collected by the Old Dartmothians some four times a year.

Over the years it has been subject to vandals' attacks and thefts which, on one occasion, even saw the statues around the fountain stolen.

Last year the old fountain's water pump failed and it has not been operating since.

The Old Dartmothians are looking for donations for the new fountain project from their members and are also inviting any members of the public to help out.

Anyone who wishes to make a donation to the fountain fund can send it to the Old Dartmothians' treasurer Peter Norton at 10 Dartmouth Court, South Embankment, Dartmouth.