International news - Royal Navy intercepts Russian warship in Channel

THE Royal Navy was forced to scramble a warship to intercept a Russian frigate 20 miles off the UK coast amid heightened military tensions.

ALERT: This is the second time in three months that Russian warships have been spotted in the Channel [Getty]

The HMS Argyll navy ship deployed a Lynx helicopter and used sensors to locate and monitor the Yaroslav Mudryy, which was on its way to the North Sea from the Mediterranean.
French forces had been tracking the Russian warship but when it veered close to British borders the navy was dispatched.
The ship was tracked through the English Channel and continued its journey to Baltiysk, Russia.
It had been on a 25,000-mile, six-month tour around Europe and Asia.
"Under the NATO agreement whereby alliance nations co-operate to monitor activity, the Royal Navy took over from French surveillance," the Ministry of Defence said in a statement.
The Yaroslav Mudryy - which is used to protect combat ships from attack - was travelling with an accompanying tanker.
It is the second time in three months that Russian warships have passed through the Channel.
At the end of November, Nato was forced to dismiss reports that a flotilla of Russian vessels in the Channel was conducting military exercises.
And last month the RAF scrambled fighter jets to intercept two Russian Bears spotted hovering near Bournemouth.
The long-range bombers are capable of carrying nuclear missiles.
Relations between Russia and the West have soured in recent months over Moscow's perceived role in the conflict in eastern Ukraine and its annexation of Crimea.
Many other European countries have reported what are widely seen as displays of Russian military prowess.
An MoD spokesman estimated that a Russian warship was escorted through the Channel every few months.