Chatham Historic Dockyard has been "decimated" by the coronavirus crisis, the trust's boss has revealed.

The majority of the dockyard's 300-strong workforce have been temporarily laid off as Medway's award-winning tourist attraction has had to carry the burden of rising debt and low revenue because of the pandemic.

This comes five weeks after trust bosses said the attraction was deemed "financially sustainable" after generating £350,000-a-year in income, which came alongside a major £8.4m refurbishment.

Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust's chief executive, Bill Ferris, said: "We have furloughed the majority of our excellent team and taken other sensible measures to secure our long term future."

For more than 400 years Chatham Dockyard supported the Royal Navy by building, repairing and maintaining its warships before it shut in the 1980s and became a tourist attraction.

The site has been associated with iconic seamen Sir Francis Drake and Lord Nelson while also supporting the navy in famous historic battles, ranging from the Spanish Armada to the Battle of Trafalgar.

In April 2018, more than £8m was invested in the conversion of a Grade I former industrial building at the dockyard into commercial office space as part of the Fitting Rigging House revamp.

Around £550,000 was allocated towards the scheme by the South East Local Enterprise Partnership (SELEP), which is made up of key business and council leaders across the south east region.

SELEP's strategic board met earlier today and voted to delay a £550,000 repayment amid the financial crisis.

Chatham ward councillor Vince Maple (Lab) described SELEP's decision as "sensible" and "pragmatic" while Mr Ferris said he was "extremely grateful".

The decision came shortly after a report published to SELEP said: "The Chatham Historic Dockyard attraction has temporarily closed as a result of the social distancing measures and, as such, concerns have been raised over the cash flow position of the organisation."

Cllr Maple said the historic dockyard remains a key icon to Medway in its bid to become a city of culture in 2025.

Mr Ferris said: "The deferral allows us flexibility to maintain essential services at the historic dockyard during a period when almost all of our income streams have been decimated by the social distancing and other impacts that the virus is having on 'normal life'."

More than a dozen SELEP board members voted in favour of delaying the trust's initial loan repayment of £200,000, which was originally due on March 31.

In addition, the SELEP board agreed to provide a 12-month "grace" period on any interest charges.

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