A Russian warship and her accompanying tanker were spotted off the coast of Folkestone.

The ship, Yaroslav Mudryy, had been tracked by Royal Navy warship HMS Argyll and monitored as she sailed through the English Channel.

HMS Argyll, the longest-serving Type 23 frigate in the Navy, used her Lynx helicopter and sensors to locate and monitor the Russian warship.

One eyewitness, Tom Godden, said: "It was surprisingly close to the shore and lingered for a bit off the coastline. Then went full steam ahead and was gone.

"It was close enough you could make out the silhouettes of people on deck. Quite an intimidating thing to see on your doorstep."

HMS Argyll is a Fleet Ready Escort (FRE), which means she is well prepared for short-notice deployment.

The Royal Navy took over from French surveillance in line with a NATO agreement that states alliance nationals must co-operate to monitor activity.

Commander Paul Hammond, commanding officer of HMS Argyll, said the crew had just returned from a Mediterranean deployment.

He added: "We are one of the Royal Navy’s high readiness ships and we knew we could be called upon to respond a range of duties, such as monitoring a Russian warship, at short notice.

"The vast majority of the ship’s company, myself included, returned from a highly successful Atlantic Patrol Task (North) deployment just before Christmas.

"To be ready to undertake this duty after a short period of leave and maintenance is a testimony to their hard work and the capability of this ship."

HMS Argyll, based in Plymouth, recently seized £77 million of drugs on a deployment to the Caribbean and North Atlantic.

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