The Royal Navy warship HMS Nottingham, which ran into rocks off Australia's east coast earlier this year, has arrived in Portsmouth Harbour.

The type-42 destroyer hit rocks and holed her hull at Lord Howe Island in July and has been transported back to UK waters on the heavy lifting ship, MV Swan.

She was gently ushered, stern first, into the harbour on Sunday afternoon, where she is due to undergo �26m worth of repair work.

Onlookers watched the ship's arrival

Defence Procurement Minister Lord Bach has said the work at the Portsmouth naval base could take up to 18 months.

The warship's future had been in doubt after the accident, which nearly sank her and caused extensive damage.

Replacement ship

HMS Nottingham had undergone an extensive refit programme in 1999 at a cost of �55m, which extended her operational life to 2012.

A full repair was therefore considered the most cost effective solution by the Ministry of Defence.

The destroyer HMS Glasgow has been "reactivated" to cover for Nottingham while the repairs take place.

HMS Nottingham is a batch two destroyer.

Ship costs

Built 1978-1980 - �115m Refit 1999-2000 - �55m Repairs 2002 - �26m

A full board of inquiry into the circumstances of the running aground at Lord Howe Island, 200 miles off the coast of Australia, has yet to report its findings.

The warship's captain Commander Richard Farrington has yet to find out whether or not he faces a court martial over the incident.

The ship tore a 160ft gash in her hull on a submerged but well-charted rock in the Tasman Sea on 7 July this year.

A total of 253 crew were on a routine trip from Cairns, in Queensland, to Wellington, in New Zealand, when water flooded five compartments of the ship.