FRIENDS of Britain's only surviving Second World War aircraft carrier are one step away from bringing the ship back to Southampton, before she is turned into razor blades.

A group of enthusiasts need one more sponsor to bring the 211m/700 feet HMS Vengeance - currently rusting in Rio de Janeiro after being sold by the government - back to the UK and park her at Netley, in the Solent. For the group, known as Friends of HMS Vengeance, it is "last chance saloon".

Previously they submitted an unsuccessful plan to buy the 17,000 ton ship from the Brazilian Navy for £4m but could not raise enough cash.

Instead, Philip Bush, a Swiss-based, British-born shipbroker, arranged the purchase of the vessel on behalf of a private client. Enthusiasts say Mr Bush is now doing all he can to bring the ship back to UK waters.

Mr Bush said: "I have clients who will invest a significant amount in the on-going project but to date we have not found the investor to place the initial capital to bring the vessel here.

Plans are already advanced for turning the ship into a tourist attraction if it is brought back across the Atlantic.

They say that, if she is not saved, the vessel will be shredded into millions of razor blades. HMS Vengeance was built by Swan Hunter and commissioned in January 1945.

With the motto "I strike, I cover", served with the British Pacific Fleet in 1946 then with the Royal Australian Navy in the early 1950s and was sold to Brazil in 1956.

Chairman James Watling of the Vengeance Veterans Association, said: "This is an opportunity to save a unique piece of Britain's navel heritage."