A charity backed by actor Robbie Coltrane has launched a £200,000 campaign to return one of the Clyde’s most famous steamships to Glasgow.

The TS Queen Mary, built in 1933, was one of the last steamships ever to be built on Glasgow’s famous Clyde dockyards and was once known as the "pride of the Clyde". The ship was retired in 1977 and spent several years as a floating restaurant.

In 2008 she was sold again but after plans to restore her failed to come to fruition she was left to fall into a state of disrepair.

Coltrane, who has come "aboard" as patron of the charity, has now launched a £200,000 appeal to return the TS Queen Mary to the Clyde.

The Harry Potter actor said: "I used to admire her greatly when she was in London.

"I always wondered what had happened to her and I had this awful feeling she might have been scrapped. Somebody said to me, "you know there’s a charity trying to bring her home?"

"I was as excited as a schoolboy in a sweetie shop. I thought, I better get involved. They asked me to be patron and it was a 10 second conversation."

In October the charity successfully acquired the vessel and set about bringing her home to Glasgow, raising over £25,000 in just three months for repairs so she can be towed back to Scotland.

Charity founder and trustee Iain Sim said, “The generosity of our supporters has been phenomenal.

"We have successfully raised the cost of repairs need to tow her home and we will soon announce which contractor will carry out that work.

"In fact, so far the charity has invested over £200,000 in Queen Mary, from corporate in-kind assistance, cash and professional time.

"We now need to raise £200,000 to tow her home, where she belongs. If we reach our target, she could be home as early as this summer.

"The funds will also cover an essential dry-docking, Queen Mary’s first since 1997, and all of the necessary lower hull repairs. It's an ambitious target, but with your support we'll get there."