£1.7m bid to rescue Maid who fell on hard times

A CHARITY battling to return the last paddle steamer to be built in Britain to her former glory is to launch a £1.7million drive to complete the project.

The Maid of the Loch was built in 1953 and for many years took day trippers on excursions on Loch Lomond, making its final journey on August 31, 1981.

The Loch Lomond Steamship Company (LLSC) took over ownership 20 years ago and today the vessel is berthed at Balloch, Dunbartonshire.

The Heritage Lottery Fund has promised to put £3.8million towards the £5.5million restoration costs.

LLSC director John Beveridge said: ‘We are hoping to raise the money this year to get the ship sailing for next summer.

‘We are going to put it back to her 1950s condition but it will meet all the modern safety standards.’

Mr Beveridge added: ‘When we got the ship in 1996, everything had been stripped out. All the furniture, bits and pieces from the engines of any value – they had all been stolen.

‘While the ship is structurally sound we have to put back things like floorings, wood panelling and coverings.’