Glass 'sea' stops steamship rust

The new structure is part of an £11m conservation project

A giant glass structure which will help protect a historic steamship in Bristol from rust has been unveiled.

The platform, around the hull of the SS Great Britain, holds a thin layer of water, but gives the impression the ship is sitting in deep water.

A dehumidifier has been installed beneath the sheets of glass to stop the ship corroding in its dry dock.

Project manager Richard Baister said: "The dry dock is a very wet place which promoted the corrosion of the hull."

He added: "Something had to be done to arrest the corrosion or within a five-year period there would literally have been nothing left."

The glass structure is part of an £11m conservation project which aims to preserve the SS Great Britain, a steamship designed by Victorian engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel.