A ROYAL Navy frigate, with close ties to North Yorkshire, seems set to continue patrolling the Gulf, despite confirmation some of the British warships will soon be turning for home.

HMS Richmond - whose crew visit the market town of the same name every year - has been escorting the aircraft carrier, HMS Ark Royal, as well as HMS Ocean, used as a floating base by the Royal Marines during the conflict.

Both the bigger ships are included on the list of vessels to be recalled to the UK, but HMS Richmond has been asked to continue with interdiction patrols, helping to ward off smugglers running the Iraqi coast.

However, in his third bulletin for the Northern Echo, medical officer Lieutenant Commander Chris McClean has confirmed the ship was due into a local dock, allowing divers to carry out a routine check of the hull and some of the crew some time ashore.

Otherwise, the vessel has also been involved in training exercises - which have sometimes involved live-firing of her armaments - while crew from other ships in the fleet have visited to make use of HMS Richmond's email links with home.

''However, one of the highlights of the week was the arrival of mail from the UK. This arrived a few days later than planned because of operational constraints and was appreciated all the more for the delay,'' said Lt Cdr McClean.