First glimpse of Shropshire charity's new boat

The finishing touches are being carried out on the latest addition for the Lyneal Trust which has been officially named 'Shropshire Lady' and is costing at least £70,000.

It is replacing the Shropshire Lad – a 24-year-old boat belonging to the charity – which has run its course.

The trust, which is based near Ellesmere, provides boats for people who are disabled or dealing with vulnerability, illness or injury of any kind.

Chris Symes, member of the trust, said the new boat is set to be officially launched in July.

"It is going through its final fitting out stages and in four or five weeks a team of volunteers will be ready to bring it back to Lyneal for testing," he said.

"We will put her into gentle use at the start and will be organising a fairly official ceremony to name and launch her in July."

Mr Symes said naming her Shropshire Lady was an easy decision to make.

"We discussed about inviting nominations but after some of the suggestions on social media we decided against it," he said.

"The name represents what it is all about. It represents Shropshire and because of our close links with the county we received permission from the lord lieutenant and leader of the council to use Shropshire's coat of arms on her.

"Because she is so elegant and is probably the most beautiful day boat on canals in Britain it was easy to call her a lady."

Mr Symes said the new 60 foot boat has huge windows allowing people to enjoy panoramic views.

"It will still have a hoist and ramps, but down below it has been laid out and designed to make people feel relaxed.

"They will feel comfortable watching the canal go by and the visibility is so good," he said.

The boat is being built by Stoke-on-Trent-based builders who have built the charity's previous three boats.

Details of the official launching ceremony are being kept under wraps by the charity.

For more details about the project visit the charity's Facebook page.