Prince William in cocaine bust

By [rwalton]

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.