Skipper of crash destroyer had just arrived on board - report

The skipper of the crippled destroyer HMS Nottingham flew on board his £300m (€467m) only three minutes before it crashed into rocks off Australia, it was reported tonight.

Commander Richard Farrington had been ashore on Lord Howe Island and returned to the ship by helicopter just before the Nottingham hit Wolfe Rock, ripping holes in its forward hull, said the Sydney Morning Herald.