Meet the eight year old shipwright helping put a ship right down at Heswall Shore

As we know, there are a fair few abandoned boats down on Heswall shore, and recently Wirral council, as we reported, set about getting rid of them and tidying the place up.

However, there is one vessel that has most certainly not been left to its own devices, thanks to Wrexham couple Simon and Gemma Robins.

Frequent visitors to the shore and those living nearby may have noticed that, thanks to the Robins and helpful friends and volunteers, this boat is being given a new lease of life.

To the untrained eye it looks like a pleasure craft of some kind, which indeed it was; but prior to conversion and the new name of Sarinda last century, this was a boat known as ML 1392 - a boat which took part in the D-Day Normandy landings of June 6 1944, helping guide the ships and landing craft of the invasion of France.

How Simon and Gemma came to own it is pretty extraordinary.

Says Gemma: "Buying a 72 foot 1943 World War Two boat was never planned. Simon loves restoring small boats as a hobby, so one Sunday night in January last year he was looking at boats for sale on eBay and stumbled across Sarinda, a D-Day survivor, and she was looking worse for wear.

"Simon shouted over to me to have a look at what he'd found, expecting me to tell him to stop being stupid. But I looked at the advert and something struck a chord. How can a boat that went through D-Day be left so unloved?"

The next day ML 1392 was still on their minds, so they arranged to go and visit, and within an hour they were on board. The scale of the boat and the amount of work needed was evident, but the couple left "with a fire in our hearts to save this piece of history."

The pair bought ML 1392 and, since then, along with their children Mason and Emilia, have spent much time on the process of returning the boat to its former glory.

Gemma and Simon with eight year old helper, Patrick Littler

They have also been assisted by great volunteers, including a very special one who has just been honoured for his efforts.

Eight year old Patrick Littler has been recognised by National Historic Ships UK and commended for his hard work and skill.

Gemma Robins said: "We were so pleased to present Patrick with an award for his volunteer efforts onboard Sarinda. He is from Toxteth in Liverpool, such a fantastic lad, seems to love getting stuck in, and is a pleasure to be around!

"Patrick has helped us with a lot of preparation, the sanding and painting of the hull, and now he's started helping inside.

"We have been teaching him how to use power tools, and how to fit copper nails and roves to the interior woodwork. He's a great asset to the team!"

Patrick getting stuck in

Now the proud owner of a National Historic Ships UK certificate, Patrick added: "I am so happy I have had the opportunity to help out on the Sarinda with my dad. I have always been interested in ships and boats and to actually be a part of the team now is so exciting.

"I have learnt a lot working on the boat with everyone, using power tools is exciting too, and I also love the award I got. I didn't expect it to happen, I was so happy, and I wanted to say a big thank you to Gemma and Simon for letting me help out on the boat. They have taught me a lot."

You can follow the progress of the Robins' project on their YouTube channel, Ship Happens, by clicking or tapping here.

Patrick and his award form National Historic Ships UK