A car which had been dumped in the River Lagan decades ago has been partly removed.

The rusted vehicle, which had deteriorated and begun to break apart was removed from the water near Lisburn on Sunday, following calls for it to be taken away.

The Department for Infrastructure (DfI), which is responsible for managing the flood risk from rivers, confirmed the car had been "present in the river for decades".

It added the vehicle was "not currently considered to have a significant impact on drainage or flood risk".

The Community Rescue Service (CRS) stepped in to help remove the vehicle from the river.

It said the car had been submerged for "53 years".

During a four-hour operation, which involved gaining access to the riverbank and bringing specialist equipment to the site, the team removed the upper portion of the vehicle.

CRS Regional Commander Sean McCarry said the car had deteriorated to less than half of its original structure, with much of what remained embedded in mud and soil.

"Considering the amount of concern and public interest, it was decided for safety reasons that we should remove the visible portions of the vehicle despite their poor condition," he said.

McCarry said further debris could potentially be removed when river conditions allow.

The material recovered during the operation was taken away for disposal.

CRS said it would continue to coordinate with the council and local representatives, and would return to the site when conditions are suitable to assess and remove any further visible remains.

Alliance councillor Nicola Parker, who was present during the removal, said the car had deteriorated significantly after spending so long in the water.

"It has been in the water for so long, that it is now paper thin and there wasn't much to hold it together".

She said the recovery team encountered difficulties while trying to remove the vehicle, with the main base of the car buried in the riverbed.

The vice-chair of Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council's environment and sustainability committee added that they best possible outcome would have been to remove the car entirely but that was not possible.

Parker also raised concerns about the environmental impact of the vehicle remaining in the river.

"It really shouldn't lie this long because of the wider pollution elements, the habitat, the ecology and the water, all of that is being affected by it," she said.

Parker said a lack of clarity over which agency was responsible for removing the vehicle had caused frustration.

"Legislatively, it doesn't fall under anybody's department" she said.

"Each of them have slightly different remits for different parts of water, but nobody was responsible for the removal of the car and that's what we were met with every time," she added.

"That provided us with a level of frustration because nobody was willing to say, 'let's get the better thing done here'," she said.