The government shelved new laws earlier this month which would have given certain ships – mainly old wrecks – the same listed status as buildings.

But protesters say they won't give up and that a new Heritage Protection Bill could now include modern navy warships.

The ultimate aim is for the likes of HMS Ark Royal and HMS Illustrious to be saved from the scrapheap when they are decommissioned.

Some are calling for them to be kept at Portsmouth naval base and opened to the public, like Nelson's flagship HMS Victory, the Tudor warship Mary Rose and HMS Warrior.

Martyn Heighton, the former boss of the Mary Rose Trust and now director of National Historic Ships, said he was in talks with the Department of Culture, Media and Sport about a new law.

He said: 'When the heritage bill was dropped it was a major disappointment, there's no doubt on that.

'But since the beginning of December we have had encouraging talks with the department and they have given us guidance on how to take our lobbying forward.

'The last bill did not have floating ships in it, even though wrecks were accounted for, and that meant we were trying to shift the character of a bill that had already been in motion for several years.'

Without legal protection, campaigners wanting to save warships like Falklands vessels HMS Intrepid and HMS Fearless, pictured on the front page, faced an uphill struggle. Both have been sent for scrap.

This is why The News launched its Save Our Ships campaign to keep important vessels for the nation.

Mr Heighton said: 'I think we have to be ambitious and optimistic in calling for ships to be included (in the bill).

'There are so many heritage ships in Portsmouth Harbour and the area, and any success here would benefit the nation.'

In a statement, culture secretary Andy Burnham insisted the government was '100 per cent' committed to preserving historic ships despite it being dropped from the Queen's Speech.

He said: 'The Queen's Speech reflects the government's immediate priorities in these difficult times.

'The important thing now is that reform work on a range of fronts continues, and the momentum built up since the publication of the white paper in March last year is maintained.'

A Department of Culture, Media and Sport spokeswoman said: 'The Heritage Protection Bill will be brought forward as soon as parliamentary time allows.'