Deep under water off the Alderney coast lies a 140 year old cargo vessel

• Roisin Gauson has been learning more about the shipment's spectacular finds

A cargo vessel which went down off the coast of Alderney 140 years ago has been identified as the SS Virago.

The wreck was originally discovered in 2009 two miles from the island, but divers only uncovered its secrets recently.

They found a thousand tonnes of machinery, including steam engines and wheels, which lie 45 metres under water.

The dangerous waters that surround the remains mean the divers needed favourable weather and tides to access it.

The ship went down in June 1882 en route from Hull to Odessa with the loss of 26 crew and has been listed as missing ever since.

Researchers are now trying to find out more about who was on the vessel, which was also built in Hull in 1871.

One of the divers, John Paul Fallaize, described the moment they approached the abandoned remains: "There were spare wheels racked up everywhere, there were the huge three foot by four inches grindstones just laying there, parked up and forgotten about for 140 years."