FEARS that Donald Campbell's Bluebird may never return to Coniston have been stoked by the man who restored the famous boat.

Negotiations to bring the hydroplane back to Coniston permanently and house it in a museum have stalled with Bill Smith, the diver who recovered and restored the boat, choosing to test its mobility in Scotland rather than on the site where Mr Campbell attempted his world record feat.

Bill Smith recovered the boat in 2006 and has overseen testing it on the Isle of Bute, with visitors descending on the island to see it in action.

Councillors say they are confident the vessel will eventually return to the waters to be exhibited by the village's Ruskin Museum.

Anne Hall, a parish councillor for Coniston and chairwoman of the Ruskin Museum Trust, said she could not put a time frame on the doomed craft's return but was optimistic it eventually would.

She said: "Bluebird is an attraction to people from all over the world and we would love it to return to Coniston.

"We are currently negotiating along with the national park authority to bring it back but we can't say when it will be yet."

Councillor Matt Brereton, who represents Coniston on Cumbria County Council said he hoped the boat would return to the village because of its tourism benefits.

He said: "People came out in their droves to watch it tested in Scotland.

"That is the sort of thing that we have missed out in Coniston and we want the boat to be here permanently because it is a draw for people all over the world."

The man who restored Donald Campbell's Bluebird has said he does not want it to be locked away in a museum.

Bill Smith recovered the wreckage of the hydroplane in 2001 from Coniston Water in Cumbria and rebuilt it at a workshop on Tyneside.

Following a successful test run on Loch Fad in Scotland there have been offers for him to take it around the world.

But there are also calls for it to be housed in a specially-built extension in the Ruskin Museum in Coniston.