A BLAZE which almost destroyed the Cutty Sark has added £10m to the cost of the conservation project for the ship.

The project, which resumes next month, had originally required £25m but this will now rise to £35m.

So far, charity the Cutty Sark Trust has raised nearly £19m, leaving it with a shortfall of £16m.

At the time of the fire on May 21, the cause of which is still unknown, the ship had been a quarter of the way through its conservation and half of it had been removed and stored off-site.

Significant amounts of planking were removed and the bow end of the ship was largely unaffected by the blaze.

Before the fire, the ship was due to reopen to the public next November but now additional funding will be needed as well as an extra year to complete the project.

Project director and chief executive of the Cutty Sark Trust Richard Doughty said: "The fact we have lost so little of the original ship is a great relief.

"We are very optimistic the ship will be returned to its former glory and the conservation project will go ahead as planned."

He added: "We were staggered by the public's response to the fire and are very grateful for the generous donations we have received from all over the world, which to date total £640,000."

The trust's director of communications, Stephen Archer, says the ship was insured but the funds required would go beyond the eventual payout.

He said: "We are renewing our appeal to people everywhere to donate funds to help us preserve this glorious ship for future generations."

Details of how to donate are available on cuttysark.org.uk or donations can be sent to the Cutty Sark Trust at 2 Greenwich Church Street, Greenwich, SE10 9BG.