Dee estuary ship zombie attraction plans on hold

The Zombie Infection company says it will restore the ship to its "former glory"

Plans to turn a former passenger ferry on the Flintshire coast into a zombie attraction have been postponed.

The Duke of Lancaster ship in the Dee estuary has been empty for more than 30 years and the Zombie Infection company had planned to start holding events this month.

However, confusion over land ownership has forced the firm to postpone.

Five days of events had been booked by customers, who have been offered refunds or a transfer.

Zombie Infection owner Greg Rudman said a road forming part of the nearby Wales Coastal Path would need to provide access for a fire truck, but needs widening and potholes to be filled.

However, he and the adjacent land owners are having trouble locating the owner to do the work.

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Mr Rudman said the attraction would still go ahead, but could not give a date.

"It's an obstacle we didn't foresee. It's not a great situation.

"But we have been working with the [ship's] owner for eight years. We're not going to stop after that amount of time and effort."

The Duke of Lancaster ferried passengers, and later cars, between Heysham and Belfast in the 1950s and 60s

The ship, built in 1956 at the Harland & Wolff shipyard - which also produced the Titanic - became a landmark after being grounded in the estuary in 1979, but has been unused since the mid-1980s.

After being towed to Llanerch-y-Mor, near Mostyn, the ship was renamed the Fun Ship as an entertainment venue but closed and has remained locked up.

Last year, Zombie Infection said it hoped to return the former ocean liner "back to her glory days".

Customers were offered the chance to tackle actors dressed as zombies, stopping a "virus and saving humanity".