THE head of the Royal Navy Admiral Sir George Zambellas walked amongst the crowds on Bournemouth beach on Saturday.

Admiral Zambellas, The First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff described the day as the "best of the year."

As a flotilla of Royal Navy ships anchored offshore, the Admiral said: "Someone has to run the greatest navy in the world and that's me.

"It is a lot of fun, there's 30,000 people and we're here at Bournemouth on the best day of the year.

"I'm a Dorset boy so this is not far from home. This is a brilliant location with a fantastic beach, right between the two best bases for the navy, Plymouth and Portsmouth."

The Admiral said he hoped some of the £1.3m people expected at the festival over the weekend would get a chance to see what the role of the modern Royal Navy is.

He added: "We've got the gear, the government promised us the kit we wanted. There is the most incredible future for our people, what with the new carriers, new ships, new submarines.

"It is up to us to make the best deal of it, but we need people to help us do that.

"We need young people to join this incredible, technical navy - to help us exploit innovation.

"It is just the most marvellous journey ahead."