The navy has apologised after scores of disappointed visitors were turned away from visiting state of the art warship HMS Dauntless while she was moored in her adopted home of Great Yarmouth.
The public were invited up the gang plank of the £1.2bn Type 45 destroyer on Sunday as part of her weekend stay in the resort.
But the on board tours proved so popular that organisers had to make the 'difficult' decision to close the gates early, meaning scores of families and visitors had to be turned away.
A Navy spokeswoman said people started queuing before 9am and within an hour of the gates opening organisers had been overwhelmed with visitors.
She added: 'By the weight of the sheer numbers that were coming through it was very clear they were not going to be able to handle everybody.
'Next came the difficult decision, to manage expectations, was effectively to turn people away.
'The ship is very sorry for all of those that were disappointed. On the other hand (it is) enormously flattered and thanking people for taking time to turn out and come out.'
The spokeswoman said 1,000 people had gone on board yesterday, and the system for tours would be looked at for Dauntless's next visit.
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