The commander of a Royal Navy nuclear submarine has been sent home on leave after footage of his crew having a barbecue party during lockdown was released on social media.

A Royal Navy investigation has now also been launched into the incident, which occurred on nuclear-powered attack submarine, HMS Trenchant, on Thursday.

The submarine, which is based at Devonport in Plymouth had been on patrol before having to return to undergo repairs.

A video showed the 150-strong crew partying, dancing and having a barbecue on the tied up vessel, and a source confirmed to the BBC that some of them were drinking alcohol.

It has since been removed but short clips have emerged on some social media sites.

In line with government guidelines, the crew had been ordered to remain in isolation on the vessel while it underwent repairs.

A sent the video to PlymouthLive claiming the crew " had a rave in the dockyard because they were all quarantined, it’s all kicked off like. It’s a full on rave.

"CO [Commanding Officer] was told he wasn’t allowed a BBQ in the dockyard so he just did it on the casing instead they had a DJ booth set up and everything getting p****d up.

A Royal Navy spokesman told the BBC: "An investigation is under way. It would be inappropriate to comment further."

HMS Trenchant is one of three nuclear powered subs in the Navy's arsenal.