With Belfast spending yet another summer under water a local tour operator has stolen a march on the competition by splashing out £2m for a fleet of amphibious buses.

The city is set to become the first in Europe to take delivery of the new high-tech coaches, which are at home on both land and on the water. The flooded motorways which have created a commuting nightmare in Belfast certainly won’t present too many problems for the new Duck Tours when they start in service early next year.

The land and sea crafts, which are capable of doing 70mph on the road and 10 knots on the water, will allow visitors to get up close with all the main attractions, from the City Hall to the Titantic’s launching dock. The city follows Sydney and Boston to become the latest port city to invest in the vehicles. Duck Tours owner Robert Wilson said: “Amphibious tours offer excitement and a genuinely memorable experience but I am focusing also on the quality of the tour, the accuracy of the guided commentary which will be conducted by fully trained personnel and the safety and comfort of our passengers.”