A PIGEON has found her way home after a trip of a lifetime aboard a Royal Navy frigate.

Paul-a the pigeon, originally known as Paul until her gender was established, made national headlines when she turned up 300 miles out to sea and was taken care of by the crew of HMS Somerset.

Now the bird is back home in Redcar with her 74-year-old owner Gyl Hartshorn.

The crew of the Somerset had named her Paul, before releasing ‘he’ was in fact a ‘she.’

Mr Hartshorn, a grandfather-of-three, said: “It takes a good pigeon to get across the channel."

Leading Seaman William Hughes, a former pigeon fancier himself, took charge of looking after Paul-a and Mr Hartshorn, a retired welder, drove nearly 450 miles to Ludlow to collect the bird at the weekend. He doesn’t intend to race her again, but will keep her as a pet.

The bird was one of thousands making their way home from France when she got lost out across the Atlantic.

The sailors built up the exhausted bird’s strength with breakfast cereal and made her a coop on board. She was then traced thanks to an identity ring.