A historic cannon has been found off an upscale beach resort -- 150 years after it tumbled into the sea following a landslide.

And the Royal Northern Irish Regiment stepped in to move the gun -- once part of the old fort at Paget's Coral Beach Club -- 200 yards to a more accessible spot off the reefline.

But Major Colin Marks, in charge of the RNIR 3rd battalion diving club, admitted defeat after a four-day battle to shift the ton weight using barrels and flotation bags.

He said: "It's impossible to do under these conditions -- we moved it around 50 yards towards the reef and had to give up.

"We had problems with the swell -- people were getting knocked about -- and because of the depth the bags and barrels were losing buoyancy when they broke the surface.'' The long-lost cannon was discovered in February just ten feet down and around 150 yards offshore by a member of the club's staff out for a swim.

It is thought the nine-foot gun was lost when part of the fort collapsed into the water last century.

And with erosion of the shore and the tides, the cannon was left sitting 400 feet offshore and partly buried in sand.

The Ulster soldiers have jumped in to shift the massive piece of metal out to a spot near the reefline -- where it would have been in clear view to snorkellers and divers in the future.

Maj. Marks, in charge of the Portadown-based 3rd Battalion RNIR's diving club, in Bermuda as guests of the Bermuda Regiment, was in charge of the salvage project.

He said his 12-strong team spent several days attaching flotation bags and barrels to the cannon, believed to date from the 18th century, and were set to move it to the reefline.

Maj. Marks added: "We are in Bermuda for adventurous training -- and before we started our recreational diving, we decided to help out with a few projects.'' The team cleared a channel into the keep at the Maritime Musuem at Dockyard before moving on to the cannon.

Major Marks said: "The weather has not been good to us and it took longer than expected.

"But we did get it lifted off the bottom and moved 50 yards, so it's more accessible.'' He added, however: "We've had great fun in Bermuda -- we're having a whale of a time at Coral Beach and we were delighted to try and help.'' Clifford Smith, director of the Maritime Museum's underwater archaeology and conversation section, co-ordinated the work.

He said the cannon -- now worn clean of identifying marks -- appeared to date from the 18th century and to have come from the West Elbow Beach Fort, built in the 1600s.

Mr. Smith added: "It's an isolated find and we believe we know where it came from.'' He added the cannon would cost too much to conserve after so long in the water and that the best solution was to keep it sub-sea, but turn it into an attraction.

Mr. Smith said: "If it was taken out and exposed to the air, it would deteriorate very, very quickly.''