A FAMOUS tug which has served royalty and saved hundreds of North-East lives is returning to the River Tees for the first time in 40 years.

The Cunard Golden Cross, the only boat of its kind, was the escort for the Queen's first and final trips aboard the Royal Yacht Britannia.

During her service as a rescue vessel working out of Teesside she became known as "the little tug with the big heart", saving more than 300 sailors and 60 ships. She was spotted rusting away in a Royal Navy scrap yard, in Portsmouth, by former Miss Saigon and EastEnders actress Suzie Wong, who was doing a cabaret performance for the Royal Marines.

Suzie, 41, who also appeared in London's Burning and Casualty, paid £15,000 for the tug and set about restoring her with the help of husband, Ex-Royal Naval Captain Stuart White, the Royal Navy, Merchant Navy and the RNLI.

Buckingham Palace invited the Golden Cross to escort Britannia on her final voyage from London to Portsmouth in 1997 after the Queen heard she had been restored to service.

Her time is now divided between touring the country and escorting famous Cunard liners such as the QE2.

Built on the Clyde, she was ordered by Sir William Crosthwaite, a former mayor of Middlesbrough.

She was the first boat to tow Britannia with the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh aboard, when it left Teesside in the early 1950s for a visit of Sweden.

The tug, presently berthed in Newcastle on its North-East tour, is expected back on the Tees within the next week, weather permitting, and will be on view at Dawson's Wharf. She will also visit Hartlepool Marina.

Captain White, 55, said: "She was quite an important little ship as far as the people of Teesside were concerned, because whenever their relatives were in trouble at sea it was often the Golden Cross which came to the rescue.

"She became very much loved by communities and became very famous. Her nickname was the little tug with the big heart.

"She has been to many places over the years and now she is coming home.