THE memory of Donald Campbell is to live on in East Lancashire with the construction of the 'new Bluebird'.

And the speed machine is to bid to reclaim the world water speed record for Britain on Coniston Water, the scene of the disaster which claimed his life in 1967.

Pendle engineer John Getty is at the heart of the new bid and in bringing the project to Lancashire, he is maintaining the county's links with the world water speed record. The Bluebird in which Donald Campbell died was built at Samlesbury Engineering.

Quicksilver is the name of the high-tech craft that is out to capture the record which has been held by Australia for more than 20 years at 317.6 mph. The chassis of the 27 foot boat is nearing completion at PDS engineering in Nelson where Mr Getty, the chairman, is project manager in charge of construction.

Quicksilver is very much following in the wake of the Bluebird record-makers immortalised by the Campbell family. In 79-year-old Ken Norris, who lives on the South coast, it has the same designer who masterminded the Bluebird land and water world records in the 1950s.

PDS Engineering became involved with the Quicksilver project thanks to its work on the Thrust SSC supercar which smashed the world land speed record in 1997.

"Nigel Macknight, the man behind the project, heard about our reputation for prototype engineering," said John. They were going to build the boat in Bournemouth, but I convinced him that East Lancashire had all the engineering and building skills he needed to break the world record. We have the finest engineers within the area and I will be delighted when Quicksilver proves itself to be a world-beater." Extensive research and development has gone into the design of the craft. Wind tunnel testing has been carried out at Southampton University and the Government's Defence Evaluation and Research Agency has helped test the design in water.

The framework for the chassis is now nearing completion. Other East Lancashire engineering companies will be brought into the project through the Nelson-based North West Aerospace Alliance as the boat takes shape. World record attempts are nothing new for John and his team at PDS. They were part of Richard Noble's world landspeed record in Thrust SSC and worked on Richard Branson's Global Challenger round the world balloon attempt.

Quicksilver will be powered by a Rolls-Royce Spey engine taken from a Buccaneer jet which delivers a massive 40,000 horse power. Nigel Macknight, 46, has been working on the £5million Quicksilver project for the past 10 years. A writer and broadcaster, he is training as a pilot in preparation for when he takes control of the jet-powered craft for the world record attempt.

John insists Quicksilver will be as safe as it can be. "This will be the first water speed craft to have active suspension," he explained. "If it hits its own wave on its return run, as Bluebird did, it will not be a problem.

"I am delighted that we will be taking the world record attempt to Coniston in late 2002. Winning the title will be a wonderful tribute to the memory of Donald Campbell."