A WHALE of a task has been taken on by two New Forest firms - to design and build a boat to help save the world's endangered sea mammals.

Lymington-based yacht designer Simon Rogers and fibreglass specialists at Blondecell are working together on a £2m research vessel for the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW).

The project has won support from some of the country's top environmentalists and animal lovers - including Sir David Attenborough and Olympic rowing champion Sir Steve Redgrave.

The 55-tonne yacht is still on the drawing board, but by next spring she should be slicing through the waves with her first crew of sailors and scientists. Top of their emergency list will be the threatened Right whale - down to the last 300.

Simon Rogers said it had been a six-year project to produce the perfect ship for whale research. He added: "She is a sailing vessel because it makes her quieter and she can stay at sea for longer."

Tony Brewer of Blondecell, at Cracknore Hard, Marchwood, said: "We have been involved in this project for nearly five years, and it will be wonderful to see it launched at last."