German navy blamed for snagging crab pots off Plymouth

The Royal Navy is investigating fishermen's claims that German naval vessels have been snagging their pots.

Fishermen said the supply ships Die Bonn and Frankfurt Am Main had caused thousands of pounds of damage while training off Plymouth in Devon.

The navy confirmed the ships had been taking part in international exercises organised by its Flag Officer Sea Training, external (Fost) base in Plymouth.

But it currently had "no evidence" the ships had encroached on fishing areas.

Updates on this story and more from Devon.

Fishermen who have lost pots are demanding compensation for damage which they say has been caused over nearly two weeks.

Fisherman Seb McDonald said: "We have been losing a lot of gear due to the warships being around and towing over our lines so we are losing pots as well as time and money.

"It's been a bit of a nightmare, they think they have a right of way. It's blatant disregard for us."

Lee Tapper said he had lost £8,000 of equipment.

"If the damage being inflicted on us was being inflicted on land or any other industry in the country there would be complete uproar," he said.

His brother Brian said: "It's horrendous at the moment. We are losing pots and fishing time, we won't recover from it very quickly."

Fost, external trains ships' crews from the Royal Navy and overseas navies throughout the year, with Nato countries including Germany involved in the current training programme off Plymouth.

A Fost spokesman said: "We had meetings with the fishing community this summer and after those meetings we highlighted an area they would like our ships under training to keep clear of because of their fishing activity.

"We publish this to all ships undergoing training and to all our training staff.

"We are currently investigating the allegations but at this time we have found no evidence to say that the ships encroached into the area we were advised to stay clear of.

"We are still waiting completion of our investigations."

The spokesman said: "We talk to the complainant and if it is confirmed as our fault we recompense the individual.

"We have to make sure we are certain that an incident has happened.

"But we are very keen to make sure that if something has gone wrong we set things right."

The German navy said its vessels were operating in the area but they were part of the Royal Navy's training.