Bluebird: Donald Campbell's craft dismantled in ownership row

The restored craft is being taken apart at the workshop in North Shields

Work to dismantle the restored Bluebird has begun, in the latest stage of a row over what should happen to it.

Bill Smith recovered the wreckage of the craft in which Donald Campbell died while attempting to break the water speed record on Coniston Water in 1967.

He has been rebuilding it at his North Tyneside workshop but the Ruskin Museum in Coniston says it belongs there and has repeatedly asked for it back.

His team has now begun removing the original parts from the rebuilt craft.

In 2006 Mr Campbell's daughter Gina Campbell gifted the wreckage to the museum on the understanding Mr Smith would restore it.

Mr Smith said his team has restored about "half a boat" while the other half was built "from scratch".

The rebuilt Bluebird underwent trials in Scotland in 2018

In 2018 it reached speeds of up to 150mh during a test-drive on Loch Fad in Bute and he wants to return it to the water.

The Ruskin Museum maintains it was agreed it would be put on permanent display in a special wing.

In August the museum said it "had to take legal action to see K7 returned to her owners" but admitted none of the agreements drawn up over the years meant it could simply be removed from Mr Smith's premises.

Mr Smith's team is now removing "the bits that came out of the lake" and they will be handed back.

He said: "It'll be essentially from about half-way back, and bits of the forward structure.

"We'll give the scrap back to the museum and we'll build the bits we don't have and we'll be back on the water.

"Then we'll not have any shenanigans because it'll be our boat, and that'll be that."

Some of the front structure has now been taken off

Jeff Carroll, one of the museum's trustees, said: "The decision to take the boat apart is theirs.

"We gave them the option to stick to the original deal but they have withdrawn from all of the previous agreements.

"As a result we asked for the parts back."

Bill Smith recovered Bluebird's wreckage in 2001