‘Protected for another century’: experts lift 15-tonne foremast from HMS Victory

In latest stage of £42m restoration project, 30-strong team remove mast from Nelson’s Battle of Trafalgar flagship

There is only one correct way to extricate a 15-tonne wrought iron mast from one of the world’s most famous and beloved warships – very slowly, and with extreme care.

Which is precisely how a 30-strong team led by shipwrights and riggers set about their task on Monday night into Tuesday morning when they lifted the foremast from HMS Victory as part of a £42m conservation project.