Steam tug boat sails along Manchester Ship Canal after £3.8m revamp

Some workers who were on the vessel when it last sailed along the Manchester Ship Canal are aboard

A 114-year-old steam tug-tender ship has set sail for Salford for the first time since the 1980s following a £3.8m restoration.

The Daniel Adamson has been used as a tug ship on the Mersey, a troop carrier in World War One and a gin palace on the Manchester Ship Canal.

It was restored to its former glory last year thanks to a lottery grant.

The charity that fought to save it from being scrapped in 2004 said it was the UK's last steam tug-tender ship.

The Manchester Ship Canal Company bought the ship in 1936 and used it as a VIP passenger vessel

The Daniel Adamson Preservation Society (DAPS) said the only other British tug-tender was not steam-powered.

The ship set sail earlier from Ellesmere Port along the Manchester Ship Canal for Mode Wheel Locks, Salford.

Georgia Hayes from the society said it was a "very proud day".

She said it was particularly exciting for those aboard the vessel who worked on it when it used to sail on the Manchester Ship Canal in the 1980s.

Ms Hayes said the society had promised that the ship, which was decommissioned in 1985, would make trips along Manchester Ship Canal when it applied for lottery heritage funding.

DAPS said the ship, which was built in 1903, was bought by the Manchester Ship Canal Company in 1936 when it was put to use as a VIP passenger vessel.

It has been listed 15th on the national register of historic ships, DAPS added.

The Daniel Adamson is expected to arrive at Mode Wheel Locks in Salford at about 17:00 BST.