A ROYAL Navy vessel swept into port yesterday to resume links with a small community.

The village of Hurworth, nestling on the north banks of the River Tees, south of Darlington, appears an unlikely choice for an affiliation with a Royal Navy warship.

But as with the Royal Navy's other 12 Hunt Class mine counter measure vessels, the Hurworth takes its name from places linked with famous hunts.

The ship is one of the largest vessels in the world to be built from glass-reinforced plastic and all have the ability to conduct minesweeping and search operations.

The Hurworth is taking a break from its other role, as a fishery protection vessel patrolling the UK coastline, to resume links forged on a visit early last year.

While operating in the North Sea, the Portsmouth-based minehunter came alongside at Corporation Quay, in the River Wear at Sunderland, yesterday at the start of its second goodwill visit.

In the next five days the 43 crew will meet sections of the 3,000 community in Hurworth, as well as welcoming several visiting parties on board.

Lieutenant Mark Hammon said: "We are all looking forward to the trip and meeting up with people we met during our first visit to Hurworth in March last year."

The original Hurworth, an escort destroyer was built at Vickers Armstrong's Walker yard on Tyneside, and launched in 1941. It joined the Mediterranean fleet and earned battle honours off Libya, and in the Malta convoys during the Second World War. It sank after hitting a mine in the eastern Mediterranean in 1943. The latest Hurworth was built by Vosper Thornycroft at Southampton and launched in 1984.