THE £10m restoration of Britain's oldest warship afloat has won international recognition.

Work on the 184-year-old HMS Trincomalee began in Hartlepool in 1990, and has just finished.

The Trincomalee Trust, the group behind the work, has won an international maritime heritage award for its efforts.

And trust chairman Captain David Smith has been given an individual award for his contribution to maritime heritage.

The awards will be presented by the World Ship Trust later this year.

Bryn Hughes, the Trincomalee's project manager, said: "We are delighted about the awards. The restoration was a big project and took a long time."

The ship, the second oldest warship afloat in the world, is in a wet dock at Hartlepool's Historic Quay - but trust bosses hope to buy a building at Jackson's Basin, and convert it into a visitor centre.

Last year, about 30,000 visitors went to see the ship.

Tourists are given an insight into what life would have been like for the 240-strong crew, with displays showing the cramped conditions.

A total of £10.5m has been spent on the ship, with an estimated £8m of that going into the local economy. At the height of the project, the ship supported a team of nearly 50 skilled workers.

Hartlepool fought off competition from Plymouth and Portsmouth to ensure the Napoleonic warship stayed in the town.

The frigate has historical links with Hartlepool, as it was berthed there between 1862 and 1877 as a Royal Navy training ship.