A group restoring a paddle steamer which helped rescue thousands of soldiers from Dunkirk has been given funding for its project.

The Medway Queen was among the boats used to bring Allied forces home in 1940, and is credited with getting 7,000 people back to British shores safely.

The Medway Queen Preservation Society has now secured a grant of five million euros from the Interreg IVA 2 Seas initiative, a European Union scheme which aims to promote cross-border projects.

Money will be split between the Medway Queen, which will get a million euros and has to match the figure through its own fundraising, and two other projects which are building replicas of ships; the Association Tourville in France and De Steenschuit in Belgium. The joint project is titled Heroes 2C .

The Medway Queen is currently having its hull rebuilt at Albion Dockyard in Bristol. Once this is done she will be towed back to Medway and fitted out.

The Medway Queen was built in 1924 and after the war returned to passenger service until 1963. In 1987 the Medway Queen Preservation Society acquired the boat as a sunken wreck.

Don't miss your Dunkirk anniversary special with you Medway Messenger on Friday.