A TANKARD presented to a fishing boat that rescued an RAF pilot more than 50 years ago has been uncovered.

The tankard was given to the crew of the boat which picked up the pilot in the water off Hartlepool, in early 1940.

The Alaskan fishing boat rescued the pilot, one of the first to be shot down in Hartlepool in the Second World War, and was escorted back to port by The Princess Royal lifeboat.

The commemorative tankard was discovered when Brian Stringer, who is helping to restore The Princess Royal, started to look into the history of The Alaskan.

Following an appeal for information, Mr Stringer was contacted by Mavis Wright, of Hartlepool, the grand-daughter of the fishing boat's captain, Bill Crask.

She has shown Mr Stringer the tankard, which is inscribed with the legend Presented to W.E Crask by the pilots of 41 Squadron.

Mr Stringer said: "It is amazing the tankard hasn't been out of Hartlepool since it was presented to the captain. It's a great link to The Princess Royal. Sadly, The Alaskan was lost a year after the rescue, but the crew were saved."

The restoration of The Princess Royal was delayed before Christmas by bad weather, but is now under way.

Mr Stringer said: "Now we can work on it all the time if we want, so things should come along well.