The Royal Navy’s new £3.1bn aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales was spotted as it passed by the island on Thursday.

Weighing 65,000 tonnes and measuring 919ft in length, the ship is one of two new Queen Elizabeth class vessels built in sections across the UK and brought together at Rosyth Dockyard in Scotland.

Having set sail from her home port of Portsmouth on Wednesday, the carrier was heading to Liverpool, one of its affiliated ports, when it was spotted off Port St Mary.

After spending a few days at sea, she is due in the River Mersey next Friday ahead of a week long stay in the city where people will be able to go aboard the ship.

The carrier, which is taller than Nelson’s Column and has a flight deck the size of three football pitches, will have about 700 people serving on board.