Russian warships are being escorted through the English Channel by the Royal Navy for the third time in six months.

Navy frigate HMS Sutherland is today escorting two Russian warships which are expected to sail through the English Channel overnight tonight.

The Type 23 frigate located the two Russian ships in the early hours of Friday morning as they sailed through the North Sea towards the Dover Straits.

The Steregushchiy-class corvettes, Soobrazitelny and Boiky, were joined later in the afternoon by a Russian support tanker and an ocean-going tug.

HMS Sutherland will continue to monitor the movements of the ships as they pass close to UK territorial waters today.