THE archaeological trust which freed Newport's medieval ship from the mud of The Usk has won part of its financial fight with the city council.

As exclusively revealed by the Argus, the Gwent and Glamorgan Archaeological Trust (GGAT) is in dispute with Newport council over £102,000 for work done.

The trust was facing insolvency when GGAT met council officers and solicitors last week to try to solve the contractual impasse.

And GGAT has now learned its negotiations were successful. The council initially refused to pay GGAT for four other jobs relating to the ship while the dispute raged on.

Those jobs were agreed under a separate contract which the trust claimed amounted to over £30,000 - a sum that GGAT needed to save itself from insolvency.

The trust extended its bank overdraft to pay staff salaries this month - but the agreement means it will now receive the £30,000, averting the immediate problem.

GGAT chairman Bob Trett said: "The trust has a partial agreement with Newport city council over the release of certain monies.

"We can therefore keep going and the staff can all be paid - I'm extremely re-lieved." GGAT still intends to battle for some agreement with the council over the figure of £102,000 it claims to be owed.

The dispute concerns a work period which extended five weeks over an agreed contract at the end of last year, an extension that GGAT claims the council agreed upon. Mr Trett said: "We are a charitable trust that is over £100,000 short, we can't just walk away from it.

"We will look for some agreement but that is one for the future. "Our immediate aim was to keep the trust alive, it was a week of great tension for GGAT, this will be a week of recovery."

No one from Newport council was available to comment, but a spokeswoman previously stated it was a contractual issue and the authority was unable to discuss it. GGAT will now complete outstanding commitments to the council which don't include the excavation of the ship's bow or stern.

The next stages involve the recording, the reassembling, and the conservation and display of the vessel, which will all be in the hands of the council.