The troubles at British Steel have created an unexpected hurdle for the ambitious restoration of Ramsey Pier.

Volunteers have been celebrating a successful operation to replace the corroded iron girders in bay one with new steel trusses.

And the big push is on to start work on Queen’s Pier’s next two bays.

But plans to order the next batch of steel may have to be put on hold for now - because of the uncertainty surrounding the British steel industry.

British Steel has been placed in compulsory liquidation, putting 5,000 jobs at risk, after the Westminster government refused to provide it with a £30m loan.

Owner Greybull blamed a slump in orders from European customers â??due to uncertainty over Brexit.

The high court has appointed accountancy firm EY to the role of special manager to assist the official receiver in looking for a buyer for the business. If they fail to find one, the firm will be wound up and redundancies would follow.

Queen’s Pier restoration project manager Stuart Mackenzie said: ’We have received a significant donation from an anonymous source which has helped but unfortunately the furore at British Steel has thrown all indications of cost into a melee.

’There is the potential for substantial price rises and the measure of uncertainty posed by Brexit has been magnified by this latest appointment of an administrator.’

During a momentous early May bank holiday weekend, volunteers joined Isle of Man Heavy Cranes to lift the old iron out of bay one and place the new steel in.

More than £30,000 has been raised for the next batch of steelwork for bays two and three. The pier has 60 bays in total and eventually all the ironwork along its length will have to be replaced.

But volunteers hope the public will soon be able to walk along at least a short section of the pier for the first time since its closure in 1990.

You can make a donation at https://www.qprt.im/donation