A GREENOCK newspaper printed on cotton and dating from 1850 has been discovered in a disused boatshed.

The edition of the Greenock News-Clout was uncovered in the 150-year-old shed in the remote village of Lochgair in Argyll and Bute.

It was found by retired couple Sandra and Fraser Bell as they attempted to clear out the shed which belongs to their family.

Mrs Bell said: "I was going through a pile of books which were mostly rotted and damp when I found this piece of cloth.

"I could not believe my eyes when I looked at the date and saw how old it is - it is in fantastic condition.

"It is incredible and very interesting." Mr Bell's grandfather Lachlan Bell worked out of the shed as a ship carpenter but he also travelled on vessels and it is thought that this is how he met his wife Isabella McCrae, from Greenock.

The couple settled in Lochgair, which lies on the coast of Loch Gair.

Mr Bell said: "We don't know the significance of the newspaper, or why my grandfather decided to keep it, but it obviously meant something to him." During the clear-out of the shed, which also once served as the village post office, the couple came across a copy of the Glasgow Herald from the same time, plus a silver merit badge from Belville Place School in Greenock awarded to Mr Bell's grandmother Isabella McCrae in 1885 for 'general excellence'.

The copy of the Greenock News-Clout, was published on Wednesday 10 April 1850 and is priced at 'three halfpence'.

According to the National Library for Scotland there are only a handful of copies in existence.

It was printed by Dumbarton-based publisher John Lennox who is thought to have used calico - a coarse lightweight cotton - to evade tax.

One of the articles in the edition deals with a visit to the 'New Poor's House' in Captain Street, Greenock.

It describes the appalling conditions and adds: "There is much to arrest your observation and much to stimulate your curiosity - much to make one sad for and much to make one thankful for." It also talks of the wash rooms and work houses and describes a sick ward as a 'chamber of horrors'.

The article also talks about the residents describing one of females as 'easily recognised as one who used to have a particular fancy for getting drunk lying in the gutters'.

Another article talks about a well-attended concert held in Beaton's Orphan Free School in Port Glasgow.

Mr and Mrs Bell now intend to give their copy of the Greenock News-Clout to the Watt Library, where they hope it will be displayed for local people to see.