The restoration of a paddle steamer which helped in the evacuation of Dunkirk has received a boost with the news that her hull is to be rebuilt.
A £1.86m lottery grant awarded last year has allowed the Medway Queen Preservation Society to sign a deal with a shipyard on Tyneside.
The steel hull will be sent away for a refit which could take 18 months.
The preservation society has campaigned and worked for 20 years to restore the Medway Queen to her former glory.
Carpenter Ron Little said: "I got involved with a project that I was told was only going to last a couple of years... we're now starting to get some real progress."
The Medway Queen, built 84 years ago, rescued 7,000 Allied soldiers from the beaches of Dunkirk in 1940.
She has also been a pleasure craft on the River Thames and a floating nightclub, but has been rusting away at Damhead Creek, on the Hoo Peninsula in Kent.
(BBC)
Medway Queen Paddle Steamer
Medway Queen - restoration plans given a big boost for this Dunkirk veteran
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