SS Great Britain mast replaced in Bristol

A new topmast has been fitted to Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s famous steam ship the SS Great Britain, after the old one became rotten.

Engineers removed the old top section of the front mast before craning a new one into place.

It replaces a mast that was fitted in 2007. The new one is expected to last for 30 years.

The ship was rescued from the Falkland Islands in 1970 and brought home to Bristol, where she was built in 1843.

Paul Harrison, from the SS Great Britain Trust, said a routine inspection had shown the old mast needed replacing.

"We came to the conclusion that topmast number one was coming to the end of its life so we had a new one fabricated," Mr Harrison said.

The previous mast, made of solid timber, had been expected to last for 10 to 15 years, so it had "weathered as expected", he added.

The new one has been made locally of "hollow engineered timber", which would give "a significant weight saving and much longer lasting" mast.

"The ship, when she was at sea, would have been under constant maintenance, and parts being replaced all the time," Mr Harrison said.

"Although she's now static and sat here as a museum, the same maintenance requirements exist, so we continue what's been a long tradition."