Museum threatens legal action over Bluebird

The fate of Bluebird could be decided in the courts as Coniston's Ruskin Museum begins legal action to ensure it is returned to the village to go on permanent display.

It took just over fifty years for the Bluebird K7 to return to water after it flipped into the air and crashed into Coniston Water, killing the pilot Donald Campbell in 1967.

Bill Smith, who found the wreckage and spent years reconstructing it, believes the Bluebird Project owns the vessel - he would like to keep the hydroplane in action for the public to see.

  • Tracey Coward is a Trustee of the Ruskin Museum in Coniston :

Bluebird lay hidden on the bottom of the Cumbrian lake for 34 years, until Smith came across it in 2001.

Volunteers who restored the boat to its former glory successfully tested the hydroplane's engine on the Isle Of Bute off the coast of west Scotland last August.

The Bluebird was discovered by Bill Smith and his friends, who had spent four years diving in Coniston. Credit: Bluebird Project

The Ruskin Museum built a wing to house Bluebird which cost a total of £800,000 - they hope the historic vessel will return to the county.

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