Deathwatch beetle threat to celebrated British warship

But nearly 260 years after it was launched, Victory -- emblem of British maritime heritage and scene of naval hero Horatio Nelson's death during the Battle of Trafalgar -- is facing another equally deadly threat: the deathwatch beetle.

Project Manager Simon Williams (L) and Richard Atherton, lead shipwright, talk beside the top deck of HMS Victory, Britain's most celebrated naval warship as it undergoes a restoration project, "Victory Live: The Big Repair" at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard on the south coast of England on August 21, 2024. (AFP)