Campbell’s daughter hails new Bluebird (From This Is Lancashire)

Campbell’s daughter hails new Bluebird

2:02pm Wednesday 26th September 2007 in

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DONALD Campbell's daughter has hailed engineers at an East Lancashire firm as "miracle workers" after they restored the chassis of Bluebird.

The jet-powered boat in which Mr Campbell set the water-speed record, has been painstakingly rebuilt by PDS Engineering, Cliffe Street, Nelson.

Mr Campbell was trying to break his own record of 298mph in 1967 when the boat went out of control and crashed to the bottom of the lake, killing him instantly.

Now after nine months of dedicated work the chassis has been completed.

Mr Campbell's daughter Gina was invited to see the Bluebird at the PDS workshops and she said the finished job was "out of this world".

She said: "It is hard to believe that the frame of the boat is now exactly as it was when it was built all of those years ago.

"It has been my desire all along, ever since Bluebird was found, to see it rebuilt and back on the water.

"This is a very important milestone in the road to that aim."

The wrecked Bluebird was lost for 34 years before being found along with Campbell's remains at the bottom of Coniston in the Lake District by amateur diver Bill Smith in 2001.

He has personally funded part of the restoration project.

Now Bluebird will be transported back to Mr Smith's home in Tyneside, where he will add a new engine. The boat will make a poignant final journey on the water before being put on display in a special exhibition room at the Ruskin Museum, Coniston.

The Nelson firm, which specialises in record-breaking vehicles and has worked on land-speed record-breaking car Thrust 2 as well as Richard Branson's round-the-world hot air balloon, got involved in the project after boss John Getty contacted Mr Smith.

Bluebird was sent to the firm on January 4, the anniversary of Mr Campbell's death.

Mr Getty, the firm's chairman, said it had been an honour to be part of the project, and hopes that the finished boat will be returned for showing in Nelson.

Lead engineer Andrew Hindle, who has done most of the work on the craft, said he was left with only a small cardboard box of parts which could not be restored.

He said: "It's amazing how well it's kept in 32 years under water.

"There's definitely something special about working on the Bluebird, because it's something that's part of British heritage.

"One of the unofficial rounds before the crash clocked in at 328mph - the official world record at the moment is only 317mph - he really did go faster than anyone had been before or since, and it was only 12 years after the first jet engines were manufactured.

"It's a fantastic story and amazing what he achieved. We're all very proud to be a part of it. "