Families reunited as Navy warship returns to Portsmouth

HMS Brocklesby is back at its home for the first time in three years

Author: Ryan BurrowsPublished 8th Oct 2021
Last updated 8th Oct 2021

A Royal Navy minesweeper has returned home to Portsmouth - for the first time since 2018.

Mine Countermeasures Vessel HMS Brocklesby has spent the past three years out in Bahrain, with her current crew on board for a total of six months.

The vessel's job has been to use drones to search for and destroy mines blocking international shipping lanes, to they remain clear of obstruction.

In her time away, she has steamed a total of 150,000 nautical miles, equal to circling the earth about three-and-a-half times, and completed six crew changes, alongside 18 operations and exercises.

For the first time since the start of the pandemic, families have been allowed onto the jetty at Portsmouth to welcome back crew members.

Here's the emotional moment they were reunited with each other:

Hear all the latest news from across the UK on the hour, every hour, on Greatest Hits Radio on DAB, smartspeaker, at greatesthitsradio.co.uk, and on the Rayo app.