IT'S a good job former mill manager Harold Cooper has time on his hands - he has spent 1,200 hours making a replica 18th Century royal yacht in his attic.

He began the painstaking work in 1991 when he retired and his model of the Royal Caroline has been built using hundreds of tiny strips of wood - some just 1mm by 5mm - carefully glued or pinned together

Harold, 73, of Isle of Man, Ramsgreave, made models as a boy in Padiham. Now, he loves researching his work, pouring over historic drawings from shipyards, maritime museums and the Royal Navy.

And he works well-away from his wife Marion - especially when she's cleaning and dusting downstairs.

He quipped: "She's forbidden from my half of the attic. If she dusts up there, all the little bits go missing.

"Marion can't really abide model-making. So when I'm modelling she watches the telly. I just love making models. It's nice to have the time to get immersed in it."

Marion, 74, said: "I prefer hobbies like gardening and painting but Harold does a fantastic job. And it's nice to see his ships in exhibition."

Harold is treasurer of the North West Shipwrights, which meets at Chorley's Woodlands Centre and recently held an exhibition at Samlesbury Hall. The group has 60 members and initially made models from recycled weaving-shuttles, which were tough, smooth-grained boxwood and ideal for models.

Club members make ships from all ages - from Viking longships and 18th Century frigates, to modern-day vessels.

After leaving Accrington Grammar School, he went into the textile trade and spent 47 years at Padiham's Perseverance Mill, which later became Tranmere Textiles.

"The shipwrights group has retired engineers, draughtsmen and an eye specialist. We're old boys playing at being young boys," he said.