A TIMEPIECE once mocked for its inability to tell the time is finally showing the right time.

The hands on the Jubilee Clock, moved from Canal Walk to the railway station forecourt in 2012, had been stationary for months.

But the clock is now back working again, with its face illuminated once more. The work was completed by Swindon Borough Council, whose contractors are currently remodelling Wellington Street.

Coun Stan Pajak, who was mayor when the clock was first unveiled in 2003, welcomed the clock renovation. He joked: “Time has stood still." The council Lib Dem leader added: "The clock is part of our heritage. We always think of the older heritage in the town.”

A borough council spokesman said:“We are pleased to have been able to bring the clock back into use. There have been a few delays in getting it repaired but we are very happy to see it working again. We hope commuters find it useful as they go to and from the station.”

The four-faced Station Road clock has had a chequered history. It cost a massive £50,000 when it was commissioned for the Queen’s Golden Jubilee in 2002.

Designed by artist Edwin Wright, the clock could play tunes and even announcements. It played Christmas music, including Silent Night, and Valentine’s Day love songs like Dream a Little Dream. Then GWR Radio DJ Jez Clark was the voice of the clock’s shopper announcements.

In August 2003, just eight months after the timepiece was unveiled, one of the clock’s minute hand fell from its spindle. It took three days for it to be repaired.

And for more than a month, the affected clock face proved itself unreliable, showing the time as anything from 30 minutes fast to 30 minutes slow.

The clock hit the headlines again in 2006, with shoppers split over plan to use the clock’s speakers to broadcast advertisements.

Two years later, the clock was again in the pages of the Advertiser after it stopped – again – prompting Grosvenor Road resident Daphne Porter to dub the situation “the great Swindon clock-up”. Daphne added: “If this was April Fool’s I could understand, but it’s not.”