A decision to scrap the "she" title for boats will "insult generations of sailors", the former head of the Navy says.

Admiral Lord Alan West, former First Sea Lord, has spoken out after a British maritime museum began referring to ships it exhibits as "it" in a bid to appear gender neutral.

In a rare move, BBC Radio 4's today programme took a call from a listener, Lord West, after he was so incensed by the news that he rang the show.

He said that the move is "stark staring bonkers" and "political correctness gone mad", adding: "It's a sort of insult to generations of sailors, the ships are seen almost as a mother to preserve us from the dangers of the sea and also from the violence of the enemy. To change it in this trite fashion is just absolutely stupid.

"We've done it for centuries as that's how we refer to them, we have to be very careful with little tiny pressure groups that make people change things. It's a very dangerous road we are going down.

"I don't think it's dated at all...sometimes things that are dated are there for very good reasons and I am very proud of some of those facts."