Skipper of historic vessels quits Hull for Grimsby saying council gave 'no support at all'

Mal Nicholson moved Spider T and HMS Pickle, a replica of the ship which brought news of the victory at Trafalgar, to Grimsby last month after five years at Hull Marina.

The 1926 Humber sloop Spider T, which was rescued from the scrapheap by Mr Nicholson in 1997, took part in the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations on the Thames in 2012. At the height of summer the two vessels can attract thousands of visitors a day.

It comes as the £27 million Yorkshire's Maritime City project designed to make more of the city's maritime attractions and attract more visitors ramps up.

Mr Nicholson said his suggestion that the vessels could prove useful to the council while the Maritime Museum and the Arctic Corsair, a 1960 deep sea trawler, and the Spurn Lightship, are getting refurbished, fell on deaf ears.

The ships are not due to reopen for at least another 18 months while the museum will remain closed until 2024.

And Mr Nicholson claims that attending early stage talks about the Lottery-funded project was a "fool's errand" and was merely a box-ticking exercise.

Speaking of his experience in Hull he said: "I didn't ask for money or anything just support. There was no support at all.

"I would go as far as to say that every opportunity they had to kick the legs from under us that was the case.

"It's a shame for the people of Hull because they have been fabulous."

Adam Fowler, from Hull and Humber Environment Forum, has raised the matter with Hull Council and is trying to broker a solution.

He said: "There is wide recognition that maritime heritage is and will increasingly be an important part of the visitor economy. "There's no reason why Mr Nicholson couldn't be part of that in future.

"A solution could be creating a historic quay on the east wall of Humber Dock in the Marina."

A council spokeswoman said: "We have outlined the ways in which we can assist and support Mr Nicholson with this project.”