Residents in Plymouth were startled by a series of loud bangs echoing across the city as a Royal Navy warship opened fire in a dramatic display. HMS Somerset, a Type 23 frigate, was seen entering Plymouth Sound at approximately 10:50 am, having set sail from Hamburg on April 7.

The sudden bursts of noise, accompanied by billowing smoke, sparked concern among locals, with many taking to social media to report the incident. However, it has since been confirmed that the ship was conducting a ceremonial gun salute to mark the end of its three-month deployment to the High North, which includes the Arctic region.

Eyewitnesses described the scene, with one resident telling PlymouthLive: "It was very loud. It properly startled me. We heard these loud bangs and then saw smoke coming from the ship, and honestly thought it had caught fire or something before realising it was probably just a salute or something like that."

HMS Somerset has recently been involved in high-profile operations, including tracking Russian ships in the Mediterranean and escorting a Russian landing ship and merchant vessel through the Channel and North Sea alongside tanker RFA Tidesurge.

The Ministry of Defence has been contacted for comment. HMS Somerset, accompanied by a Merlin helicopter, closely tracked two Russian ships as they left the Mediterranean.

Commanding Officer Commander Joel Roberts said: "Somerset has been frequently activated to conduct this type of operation given the tempo of Russian activity around the United Kingdom's territorial and sensitive waters.

"In maintaining units at very high readiness to respond, the Royal Navy offers presence, deterrence, persistence, flexibility and can deliver or facilitate a range of military and diplomatic options to support our national objectives.

"The team in Somerset remains focused, continues to integrate widely with our NATO allies, and are using a range of strategically located UK-based services and infrastructure to sustain the ship on operations."