The Jif Lemon Tree has sprung up at the Tay Road Bridge again, 24 years after its last sighting.

Under the cover of darkness, one of Dundee’s best loved practical jokes was restored to tie in with the bridge’s 50th anniversary.

The original Jif Lemon Tree was created by the first Tay Bridge toll workers in 1966 and became a familiar site for those travelling into the city.

It was lost about 24 years ago when the tree was chopped down but a local campaigner has succeeded in reviving the gag.

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Kim MacFarlane, founder of the Bring Back the Jif Lemon Tree Campaign, worked with local artist Deirdre Robertson to restore the landmark.

Ms Robertson said: “The toll men came up with the idea and managed to persuade a huge number of folk that they were real.

“Tour buses used to draw tourists’ attention to the lemons on their approach to Dundee and say ‘on your left, is the most northerly lemon tree in the world’.

“An articulated lorry driver apparently blocked the bridge one day until the toll men picked him a lemon, which they duly did, a real lemon was produced and the myth continued.

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“They used to put them out in the spring and take them down over winter when they were cleaned and stored until the following year.”

Ms MacFarlane and Ms Robertson took on the restoration themselves on Saturday night, with the help of a cherry picker and the support of the Tay Road Bridge Joint Board.

The tree is still on the Dundee side of the Tay but as the original tree is gone, this time it is on the east side of the bridge instead of the west.

Ms Robertson added: “As a nod to the original we wanted it to be a mysterious. The tree is big enough to be seen from the bridge.

“If you are coming across from Fife you will see it.”

Mr Robertson said she hopes the tree will stay up as long as possible and would also like to have a permanent plaque to commemorate the former toll workers.