Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson suggested in a meeting with top brass, that UK forces should pelt Spanish war ships with paintballs in a bid to humiliate them.

He made the suggestion off the back of a huge upsurge in Spanish vessels entering British waters off the Rock.

The illegal incursions by Spanish vessels stands at two a day now, from 541 in 2017, it shot up to a total of 816 in 2018.

A source told The Sun that the 42-year-old's suggestion left Chief of Defence Staff General Sir Nick Carter 'rolling his eyes' in front of Williamson.

A source said that the 42-year-old's suggestion left Chief of Defence Staff General Sir Nick Carter 'rolling his eyes'

The senior military source told The Sun: 'Gavin Williamson comes up with some pretty off the wall things, but firing paintballs at the Spanish Navy beats the lot of them.

'It was an excruciating moment when everyone in the room realised he was deadly serious. Private Pike strikes again.'

Williamson has been dubbed Private Pike after the ditsy character from Dad's Army, frequently referred to by Captain Mainwaring as 'stupid boy'.

The illegal incursions by Spanish vessels stands at two a day now, from 541 in 2017, it shot up to a total of 816 in 2018

The Ministry of Defence insisted Mr Williamson was joking when he suggested the paintballing tactic.

An MoD spokesman told The Sun: 'While the Defence Secretary was speaking in jest about paintballing Spanish ships, he is in favour of the Royal Navy taking a strong stand against Spanish incursions into sovereign British waters'.

He has raised eyebrows before with his 'strong stance'.

The senior military source told The Sun: 'Gavin Williamson comes up with some pretty off the wall things, but firing paintballs at the Spanish Navy beats the lot of them'

He wanted to send a Royal Navy Type 45 destroyer to the Spanish territory of Ceuta on the Moroccan coast to deal with the growing Spanish threat.

The news comes as Williamson recently warned enemies not to mess with Britain.

The stark warning came as he unveiled the country’s new fighter jet fleet.

Speaking at RAF Marham in Norfolk, home to the RAF’s Tornado and F-35 jets, he said: 'Britain’s cutting edge air power makes the nation’s commitment to a role on the world stage “clear to both our allies and our enemies”.'