Hundreds of people braved the cold wind gusting through Great Yarmouth today (Sunday) to step on board the borough's adopted warship, and welcome its crew when they marched through the town.

Crew from HMS Dauntless stepped out into the town centre this morning to march from the town hall to the Minster, where a packed congregation marked the warship's visit to the town - its second stopover since being affiliated in 2010.

Led by the band from TS Fearless Marine Cadets, the parade of Dauntless crew and officers - including commanding officer Adrian Fryer along with town and county dignitaries - marched past smiling residents, who captured the moments on cameras and mobile phones.

Reverend Christoper Terry, team rector of Great Yarmouth, led the service and said it was a 'real pleasure' to welcome Dauntless and her crew into the town.

Cdr Fryer added that it was a 'great honour' for the ship's company to be linked with Great Yarmouth and its rich maritime history.

After the service the parade trooped back to the town hall - with Yarmouth Mayor Colleen Walker taking the salute outside Palmers - where a civic reception was held.

Hundreds of residents from across the region meanwhile, descended on the town's outer harbour to see Dauntless up close.

Youngsters and adults alike were blown away when they stepped on board the state of the art Type 45 destroyer to take a tour and get hands on with some of its kit.

During their time on deck visitors got to explore various areas of the ship, including the helicopter bay and operations room - where all the ship's weapons are controlled - and were able to chat to the crew about their roles, and how the equipment is used.

Dauntless has been moored in the town since Friday and is due to leave tomorrow (Monday) at 9am.

? To see pictures of today's activities click on the photo gallery links at the top right hand corner of this page.