The rusty shell of a Ford Cortina found mysteriously at the bottom of a Hampstead Heath pond is now just a crumpled heap of scrap metal after being removed from the pond’s bed.

The car emerged from the muddy depths of the Model Boating Pond in August when it was drained as part of the City of London Corporation’s controversial Hampstead Heath Ponds Project works.

Since then, it has almost become a visitor attraction, with passers by often stopping to take pictures or just to double take at the sight of the 1970s-era vehicle.

And just before Christmas, pranksters clamped the rotting car and erected a hand-painted “no parking” sign.

But last week, the car was finally removed and dumped in a silt compound to the west of the pond.