THERE are faint hopes that an out-of-service naval boat with links to Furness could be saved from being scrapped.

HMS Walney is being sold off by the Government and it is hoped the boat could be brought to the area as a historical artifact.

Built in 1991 as a minehunter, Walney is a genuine former HMS vessel which came out of service in 2010.

Lord Walney, the former Barrow MP John Woodcock, accepted the boat would likely be sold for scrap but hoped the Dock Museum could help people to remember the vessel.

He said: “It is sad when any naval ship reaches the end of its life and it would be lovely if it were possible to bring it up here to put it to use, but I fear that the ongoing maintenance costs would be many times the relatively small sum to purchase it for scrap and recycling.

“While getting the whole thing up here is likely to be prohibitively expensive, I do hope the Dock Museum can find a way to help people remember and learn about the ship, given its affiliation with the area through its working life. “

The boat is moored in Portsmouth harbour and will be sold from there.

Prospective buyers have until August 3 to register their interest.

In a tongue-in-cheek suggestion, Lord Walney previously suggested the boat could be converted into a nightclub, similar to the Danish ferry Princess Selandia, which sat in Buccleuch Dock between 2004 and 2010.

The boat stopped at Barrow on the way to Portsmouth having been decommissioned in 2010.