A SHIP lost while searching for missing explorer Sir John Franklin in the Arctic 150 years ago has been found by Canadian archaeologists.

In the 19th century, the explorer, of Spilsby in south Lincolnshire, mapped out almost two thirds of the northern coastline of North America.

But Sir John and his crew disappeared in 1845 while attempting to chart and navigate a section of the Northwest Passage in the Canadian Arctic.

When Sir John never returned, a search party was sent to locate his lost expedition – which included the merchant ship HMS Investigator.

The Investigator made two voyages to the Arctic, but she had to be abandoned in 1853 after becoming trapped in the ice.

Her wreckage was found in July on Banks Island in the Beaufort Sea in the Arctic Ocean.

Ernest Coleman, leader of four Franklin search expeditions and author of The Royal Navy In Polar Exploration volumes one and two, said the discovery of the Investigator should be used to locate Franklin's long-lost ships.

He said: "After last being seen by western eyes in 1854, the Investigator has been found, lying on the bottom of her bay, still upright.

"Following their success, the team who found the Investigator have gone on to try to locate Sir John Franklin's own ships, the Erebus and the Terror, but have failed in their mission.

"This is probably the result of simply looking in the wrong place. The only actual evidence of the site of the two ships comes from a note left after they were abandoned.

"Instead of using that evidence, the searchers have taken note of Inuit oral tradition and are concentrating their search far to the south.

"The clue, as I always say, is in the findings of the search for the lost expedition. We now know where Franklin's ships went down, so if they look there we're sure to find them."

Raymond Glynne-Owen, chairman of the Spilsby and District History Society, said Franklin was one of the more prominent citizens of Lincolnshire.

"There's a pride in him coming from Spilsby," he said. "The Northwest Passage expedition was a failure, but he was previously successful in other things – such as the Governor of Tasmania.

"There's a statue of Sir John in the centre of town and a plaque dedicated to him. Three of the roads coming into Spilsby are even named after him."