English Heritage has highlighted four Westcountry shipwrecks it wants to protect from further damage.

Royal Anne, off Lizard Point, and Coronation, off Penlee Point, both in Cornwall, along with the Salcombe Cannon site, off the coast of south Devon, and Iona II, situated off Lundy Island, have been added to the Heritage at Risk Register in an attempt to save them for future generations.

Previously only Grade I and Grade II* listed buildings were included on the register.

But now for the very first time, archaeology, landscapes, places of worship and maritime wrecks feature on the list.

It follows a recent English Heritage study of tens of thousands of historic sites across the country.

The study, titled the Heritage at Risk project, explains why we are in danger of losing these treasures and what can be done, by whom, to save them.

According to English Heritage maritime archaeologist Mark Dunkley, the four wrecks had been earmarked because of their special interest.

He said: "Our Heritage at Risk Register is at the heart of what English Heritage does; identifying what is important and vulnerable and devising ways to save them.

"This new register will enable us to prioritise the Protected Wreck Sites that are most at risk.

"We want to reduce each year the number of protected historic shipwrecks on the Heritage at Risk register to ensure their value and significance is maintained for future generations."

Coronation
The Coronation is a 90-gun Second Rate warship built in 1685 which took part in the British defeat at the Battle of Beachy Head on 30th June 1690.

She carried the flag of vice-admiral Sir Ralph Delaval, commander of the Blue Squadron. On 3rd September 1691 after patrolling for the French fleet, the English Fleet made for Plymouth.

The Coronation foundered in a strong gale whilst trying to round Penlee Point. The wreck has twice been damaged by unauthorised access.

Royal Anne
The Royal Anne was built at Woolwich and launched in 1709. It was a Fifth Rate galley frigate and the last oared fighting ship built for the Royal Navy.

She was carrying Lord Belhaven, the new Governor of Barbados, to the West Indies in 1721 when bad weather forced her to return to port in Falmouth where she was wrecked on the Stag Rocks.

No evidence of the ship has been recovered to date although artefacts have been found there. Access to the site is difficult because it lies close inshore.

Iona II
The Iona II was built in 1863 at Govan as a fast ferry for the Clyde. It had a specially-designed twin cylinder engine which reputedly gave the ship a top speed of 24 knots.

She was soon acquired to allegedly run guns and supplies for the Confederate Forces in the American Civil War, but she sank in 1864 on her first trans-Atlantic voyage amidst rumours about her cargo.

Increased visitor access to the site has reduced unauthorised dives on the Iona II but her structure remains subject to significant natural decline.

Salcombe Cannon
First described in 1992 as a cannon site but divers from the South West Maritime Archaeology Group reappraised the site in 1995 when seabed levels changed exposing gold artefacts such as earrings, pendants and over 400 gold coins.

The gold derives from Morocco and dating for the coins suggests that the vessel was lost in the mid 17th century. All recovered artefacts are now held by the British Museum as the largest collection of Islamic coins ever found in the UK.

Last year the site was severely damaged and vandalised by an unauthorised fishing vessel operating within the sites restricted area.