A CROWDFUNDING campaign to restore a recently-discovered figurehead from the world's oldest warship afloat is underway.

Just months after being rediscovered, the figurehead from HMS Trincomalee, which is docked at Hartlepool, needs £1,000 to conserve it as it is rotting away.

Uncovered during a spring clean at The National Museum of the Royal Navy Hartlepool, it was probably the ship’s second figurehead and was made in 1845 ready for Trincomalee’s first commission, which took her to the Americas and West Indies.

It was designed and carved by Hellyer and Sons, the most successful family of figurehead carvers of the 19th century.

They served most of the major dockyards in the country, including Portsmouth where they had their original base.

Beautiful design drawings for more than 250 figureheads by Hellyers still survive in the National Archives, including the one for HMS Trincomalee.

Museum curator Clare Hunt said: “Our man was removed from the actual ship in the 1990s and since then he’s been waiting in the sidelines for his time in the spotlight again.

"We will professionally conserve him in order to halt further deterioration by rot and prevent any serious breakage, especially in the neck area where loss of timber from rot has left it in a seriously weakened state.

“Conservation will also reveal the original paint colours and bring the figurehead to a standard suitable for display enabling the public to see it for the first time."

Once restored, the figurehead will be displayed in a new activity zone at the museum.

After being ordered on October 30 1812, the Trincomalee was built in India at a cost of £23,000, with teak due to oak shortages in Britain as a result of shipbuilding drives for the Napoleonic Wars.

She departed from Portsmouth in 1847 and remained in service for ten years, serving on the North American and West Indies station where she helped quell riots in Haiti, prevented a threatened invasion of Cuba, and served on anti-slavery patrol.

The vessel went into semi-retirement as a training ship, renamed Foudroyant, before finally ending up in Hartlepool where she was restored to her former glory.

Now based at Hartlepool’s naval museum, she attracts about 50,000 visitors a year.

To donate visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/NMRN-National-Museum-of-the-Royal-NavyTrincomalee