Little Ship restored in Shropshire ready for return to Dunkirk

Seventy-five years ago the pleasure cruiser Marsayru was one of 700 vessels that rescued 338,000 troops from the French port between May 26 and June 4 amid near constant attack by the Luftwaffe.

Today she was joining more than 50 Little Ships setting sail across the Channel, escorted by the RNLI and the Royal Navy, ahead of 75th anniversary commemorations in Dunkirk.

And it's all thanks to former Merchant Navy mechanic David Shotton, of Ditton Priors, near Bridgnorth, who bought the Marsayru as a £30,000 wreck in October 2012 and has been restoring her ever since with help of friends and family.

Mr Shotton and his wife Trish, son Dan, and three colleagues, including welder Tim Roper, have sailed the 40-foot Marsayru all the way from London to Ramsgate ahead of today's grand departure. They only tested the vessel in water three weeks ago at Stourport – the first time Marsayru has set sail in 20 years.

When Mr Shotton, who is 71, bought her in 2012 she was little more than a ruin.

He repaired and restored her engines and put back original fixtures and fittings from 1938.

But the work is not complete, and the team is having to camp beneath the lower decks.

"It's not finished but we have managed to make it liveable," said Mrs Shotton, 71, who has been married to her husband for 46 years. "We have got the upholstery that was in it 20 years ago. We have had it cleaned and we have put it back in. I have bought a few throws so it is not all that bad.

"We have managed to get some water running. It's okay. It's functional but with no sort of luxury at all, but that doesn't matter. We're fine."

She said she had every faith in the Marsayru's ability to reach the French coast. "She can do it," she joked ahead of today's departure, "But I'm not sure about the crew."