ONE of the last two Royal Navy warships to return from the conflict in Iraq will today set sail from her North-East "home".

HMS Marlborough has been visiting its affiliated town of Middlesbrough. It is leaving after spending the weekend and yesterday welcoming visitors at Tees Offshore Commercial Park.

It was one of the first warships to deploy on Operation Telic and in the early days of the Gulf campaign was in the thick of the action.

HMS Marlborough, a Type 23 frigate, led four ships into shallow waters close to the Iraqi coast to provide gun support to the Royal Marines securing oil installations on the Al Faw peninsula.

During this phase of the operation the ship spent more than 80 days continuously at sea, 54 of them at a high state of readiness.

Commanding officer Captain Mark Anderson said: "I am delighted to bring HMS Marlborough back to Middlesbrough. The ship has welcomed the opportunity to return and renew long-standing ties and friendships that we share.

"This visit represented our first in the UK for over a year since returning from our recent major deployment, which took us as far as Australia and New Zealand and, of course, the Arabian Gulf."

Yesterday the ship had a full day's recruiting activities with two main events.

The Chef's Initiative involved students from Middlesbrough College, who spent the day on board experiencing life in the galley and providing lunch for the 185-strong crew

Meanwhile, other young people from the college and Hartlepool College of Further Education took part in a simulated sea warfare exercise as part of an Operator Mechanics Initiative.