A recent picture shows the continued sad decline of an historic Mersey ferry.
The Royal Iris, which inspired Gerry Marsden's iconic anthem Ferry Cross the Mersey, has been languishing near the Thames Barrier in London for many years since being taken out of service.
A new picture taken by a Greenwich resident and posted on social media shows the rusting and dilapidated vessel listing badly in the dock where it is moored, a stark contrast to the gleaming skyscrapers of Canary Wharf.
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Steve Hunnisett, who took the picture, said: "I often walk along various bits of the Thames Path for exercise and because it's a pleasant walk. I've observed the Royal Iris over a number of years and been saddened to see her gradually deteriorating.
"Although I've used the Mersey Ferry, I never actually travelled on the Royal Iris when she was in service. It'd be great to see someone come forward with the money to take her home and restore her to former glories but I suspect she's past the point of no return now."
The Royal Iris is the ferry most synonymous with the heyday of 1960s Liverpool. The once-grand ferry was a fixture on the River Mersey for more than 40 years, hosting The Beatles, and the Queen and Prince Philip in its pomp.
The boat was diesel-powered, making it the first non-steam ferry to cross the Mersey. It was affectionately nicknamed "the love boat" and "the fish and chip boat".
The Royal Iris was taken out of service in January 1991 because of rising repair costs, and sold to a consortium who wanted to turn her into a nightclub in Cardiff. When the nightclub plans did not come to fruition, she was sold on again and towed to her current resting place in Woolwich, just east of the Thames Barrier.
She has a hole in her lower side, which means the vessel floods whenever the tide comes in.
There have been various plans to bring the Royal Iris back to Merseyside, but the huge costs involved means they are unlikely to ever happen.
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