A WEST Devon inventor said he is one step closer to providing Cornwall with an artificial diving ship which will mimic lagoon wall building.

Designer and inventor Joseph Toland said that a prototype ship was being constructed by a company in Plymouth which will be towed on an inflatable before being sunk off the Roseland Peninsula, South Cornwall.

The ship is reported to be the world’s first designer open hold freighter and is built to last for 150 years.

Mr Toland said: ‘The facility is replacing collapsing wrecks and will have special safety features — it has all been researched and all items will not corrode.

‘There is a need to find a low cost route to building a 50-metre long box-like structure of long lasting materials to deliver to a nearby seabed site accurately, to mimic lagoon wall building.’

A lagoon generates electricity from the flow of the tides. Gates allow the incoming tide to fill the lagoon, rushing through the turbines and generating electricity.

‘The target to raise [for the construction of the ship] is £5-million which can be reached by crowdfunding support and the investment is eligible for support under Enterprise Investment Scheme qualification, as it is a research ship for materials and sub sea work,’ added Mr Toland.