A HULL sailor serving with Prince William on the city's

adopted warship says the royal is “down to earth” and “well

respected” among the crew.

It comes after it was revealed the Prince was involved in an

operation to seize £40m of cocaine in the north Atlantic.

In an operation with the US coastguard, Iron Duke

intercepted a 50ft speedboat carrying 900kg of cocaine on

Tuesday.

Speaking to the Mail from on board HMS Iron Duke in the

Caribbean, Petty Officer Paul Tock said: “I run the boats

on-board, so a number of my boys were involved in the

operation.

“I'm immensely proud. They were driving the sea boats in

three and four-metre swells and they performed admirably.”

He said Prince William, or Sub-Lieutenant Wales as he is

known on the ship, is down to earth and a good officer.

PO Tock said: “On board ship, Sub-Lieutenant Wales is part

of the crew.

“He is a very down to earth guy and the lads who have been

under his command have a lot of respect for him.”

Prince William took a surveillance role during the drugs

bust.

He was on board the ship's Lynx helicopter, which located

the speedboat and provided cover for the landing crew.

He then boarded the craft and helped unload the 45 bales of

cocaine on-board.

The Prince joined the type-22 frigate last month after it

paid a flying three-day visit to Hull.

As part of a two-month attachment to the Royal Navy, the

Prince is serving a five-week placement on Iron Duke.

Commanding Officer Commander Mark Newland said: “Everybody

on board is cock-a-hoop at the success of the operation.

“We've only been in theatre for four days and this shows

that already the boys are in very good form.

“Sub-Lieutenant Wales is settling in very well.

“He is a very professional military officer. He is

comfortable in the number of roles he has taken on and

interacts with crew very well.”

Iron Duke will be in the Caribbean and north Atlantic for

the next five months incepting drug-runners and providing

humanitarian assistance during the hurricane season.