STRICKEN shipbuilder Cammell Laird could be kept afloat by near neighbour Swan Hunter, it has emerged.

Tyneside shipbuilding giant Swan Hunter is examining a bid for parts of the ailing firm, which called in the receivers in the face of £150m in debts.

Swan Hunter commercial director Norman Brownell said: "If we can see any part of the operation we can use successfully, we will do it.

"We are always looking at ways of improving our business and, if we think an acquisition could and the price is right, we will be interested."

Shares in Cammell were suspended last Wednesday, at 6p, down from a high of £10, valuing Cammell as less than £18m.

The Merseyside-based firm employs 1,800 workers, with 750 at its Hebburn yard, as well as sites on the Wear and Tees.

Receivers PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) is seeking the sale of the group as a going concern, but City sources have been reported as saying this will be unrealistic, with a break-up of the business the most likely outcome.

Swan's boss Jaap Kroese said he will be contacting PWC first thing after the Easter break.

Venture capital firm Alchemy, the company behind last year's failed bid for carmaker Rover, and the ill-fated rescue package for brewer Vaux a year earlier, has also emerged as a bidder for the firm.