ROYAL Navy warship HMS Northumberland will visit Merseyside this weekend.

Due to arrive at Liverpool's cruise liner berth on Saturday, May 18 at around 6.30pm, the Plymouth-based Type 23 frigate will stop for four days after shadowing a Russian naval vessel through the English Channel.

The ship and her crew – three who are from Liverpool – will take on supplies and enjoy a brief respite from the operations during the logistics stop.

Commander Ally Pollard, HMS Northumberland’s commanding officer said: “This has been a particularly intense period of work for HMS Northumberland.

"It is always a privilege for us in the Royal Navy to come in to a UK port, particularly one with such a maritime focus which will undoubtedly give us such a warm welcome.

“The ship has had an extremely busy few weeks at sea and we have had to react to a number of short notice programme changes in support of national interests.

“It is credit to the team on board that they have been able to switch focus with such ease, for example our recent change from anti-submarine warfare training to shadowing Russian ships through UK territorial waters.

"This is normal business for the Royal Navy, being prepared at all times to respond to help keep Britain safe.”

While docked, the ship will welcome local community organisations on board and work with reservists from the local Royal Naval Reserve unit.

HMS Northumberland was originally designed to deal with Soviet submarine threat but now travels to all corners of the globe to deal with any mission imaginable.

With 190 sailors on board, the ship is equipped with state-of-the-art weapons and missile systems designed to protect the Royal Navy fleet from attack.