Stars help the Maid to stay afloat

The Maid Of The Loch was the last paddle steamer to be built in Britain.

She was launched in 1953 and played host to royal guests and celebrities as well as three million day-trippers during her 28 years on the water.

As passenger numbers dwindled, she was decommissioned in 1981 and subsequently fell into decay.

In 1996, the Loch Lomond Steamship Company (LLSC) launched an ambitious rescue mission and since then the volunteer-run charity has raised more than £2,000,000 and invested this in the first stages of the Maid’s conservation.

Following a successful Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) bid in 2015, LLSC is trying to raise £1.7m in order to release HLF funding of £3.8m which will allow the Maid to return to full operation.

But in the meantime the group has organised a six-week campaign to raise £125,000 for a specialist steam boiler, which they must order by the end of January.

And stars of screen and stage have backed the drive with a new video.

Actor Bill Paterson has teamed with folk music legends Aly Bain and Phil Cunningham for a film about the Maid.

The film can be viewed, and donations to the appeal can be made, at crowdfunder.co.uk/maid-to-sail

The Crowdfunding campaign runs until December 7.