A SIGNIFICANT milestone has been reached in bringing a marvel of British engineering back to life.

Bluebird, Donald Campbell's ill-fated water craft is one step closer to being fully restored.

A new engine has been fitted more than a decade after the boat's wreckage was found in Coniston in 2001.

The team restoring the Bluebird have been working for 15 years to bring the craft back to life.

The engine used was donated by De Havilland Aviation in 2007, and was sparked into life yesterday by the restoration team, led by engineer, Bill Smith.

The engine is almost an exact replica of the original Bristol Orpheus engine used in the 1960s.

The Newcastle-based engineer who sat in the cockpit during the test described the experience as "fantastic" and "absolutely amazing."

He said: "The ghost of Donald Campbell must be looking down at me now and falling about laughing.

"We only ran it at 65 per cent power and it was just amazing. That's about as much as we can give it in the yard, because it'll have the building down.

"I absolutely loved it, not just because it's a fun thing to do to sit in Donald's boat and give it some beans. But because of all the work we have all put in to get to this point where it's working. "The last time it did that was January 4 1967. This is a bit of history."

Donald Campbell who broke speed records on land and water died in January 1967 at Coniston trying to break his own water speed record.

He lost control of his power boat going more than 300mph; he was killed instantly as the boat somersaulted across the water.

The restored Bluebird will undergo further testing in the spring at RAF Scrampton in Lincolnshire.

The ultimate hope is to return the craft to Coniston water, before putting it on display in the town's Ruskin Museum.

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