Portland Sea Cadets received a very important visitor - the head of the corps himself Captain Philip Russell of the Royal Navy.

The captain paid an informal visit to check up on the Unit and join in with a parade night. The cadets enjoyed 'spooky' activities that evening as well, since it was Halloween night.

The Unit was also presented with a laptop by a representative of Fortuneswell based charity the Shearn Memorial Trust.

Speaking to the cadets, Fleur Adams-Johnson of the trust said she used to be with the Girls Nautical Training Contingent on Portland which she remembered fondly. The Girls Nautical Training Contingent was absorbed into the Sea Cadet Corps in 1992.

Portland Sea Cadets’ Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Rachel Harris, said: "The laptop is a much needed asset that will be put to good use in our work with the young people of Portland.

"It allows us to finish the set up of one of our classrooms with the IT required to deliver the Cadet’s training programme, which will be a real step-change in the effectiveness of how we provide our training and personal development opportunities.

"We are extremely grateful for the Shearn Trust’s support."

Captain Russell brought the evening to a close by presenting the Commanding Officer with the Unit’s Burgee Award.

He said: "You have had an outstanding year, and sit well-placed among the top units in the country.

"You should be rightfully proud of yourselves and all that you have achieved."

The assessment of the Unit's 'Cadet Experience' - which measures the variety of activities undertaken by the Cadets over the past year - led to it being ranked second out of the 80 Sea Cadet Units in the south west.

Portland Sea Cadets is one of the branches of the Sea Cadet youth charity. Across its 400 units nationwide, it offers water and land based adventure to children aged 10 to 80.

Activities include sailing, rowing, power boating, rock-climbing, marine engineering and first aid.

At present, the Portland branch has vacancies for both cadets and volunteers.

To find out more, visit sea-cadets.org/portland