And the licensee of the site, Iain Grant, and his team are hoping to carry out a full excavation within the next two years to preserve the historical ship HMS Hazardous.

However, he said finding the money and time to do it would be difficult.

"I want to be able to complete the project and excavate it fully before I die – I think it would be a shame if we couldn't," said Mr Grant.

"Because the wreck is in a marine environment, it's virtually impossible to protect from erosion. The rate of erosion is increasing.

"I think the ultimate aim of the project is to have a Bracklesham and East Wittering museum which focuses on the Hazardous with other local history groups involved also."

English Heritage revealed its findings on July 8 after carrying out a Heritage at Risk (HAR) survey.

The Hazardous is one of 19 sites listed on the HAR register as being at high or medium risk of fading from the nation.

Its aim is to find out how many of England's protected wrecks are at risk of loss through neglect or decay. It explains what is happening to the wrecks and what can be done to save them.

Mr Grant said a trench excavation and evaluation would help the project to look towards the future and protect the wreck.

He said: "We are in a position to recover all the information and artefacts but they must be uncovered first. They would then be preserved. There would be lots of money involved in carrying out the full excavation."

HMS Hazardous was a 54-gun fourth rate ship of the line, which was captured from the French in 1703. It was re-fiited for the Royal Navy and grounded on a reef in Bracklesham Bay during a storm in 1706.

The reef broke the back of the boat and the bow section settled into the sand on the shore side. The stem and port side are now preserved and the front part of the ship was weighed down by its cannon.

Mr Grant is part of the Hazardous Project which looks after the wreck and has been working on the ship for more than a quarter of a century. The ship was discovered by local divers in 1977.

There is also a dive trail where members of the public can take a look around the underwater ship.





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