diff --git a/phpBB/includes/datetime.php b/phpBB/includes/datetime.php
index 577081e40b..8763697c78 100644
--- a/phpBB/includes/datetime.php
+++ b/phpBB/includes/datetime.php
@@ -124,6 +124,16 @@ class phpbb_datetime extends DateTime
 		return strtr(parent::format($format['format_long']), $format['lang']);
 	}
 
+	/**
+	* Magic method to convert DateTime object to string
+	*
+	* @return Formatted date time, according to the users default settings.
+	*/
+	public function __toString()
+	{
+		return $this->format();
+	}
+
 	/**
 	* Pre-processes the specified date format
 	*