A GROUP of 26 servicemen parachuted into the sea off Lee-on-the-Solent in an exercise to train them to respond to a submarine emergency.

The team, most from the Royal Navy, with some Army personnel, is part of the Submarine Parachute Assistance Group (SPAG), whose role is to provide rapid help to the crew of a sunken submarine, to survivors on the surface and to other rescue forces.

Using a chartered Short Skyvan aircraft, they jumped in combinations during eight sorties into the sea one kilometre from Lee-on-the-Solent Sailing Club slipway.

Rigid inflatable boats recovered parachutists from the sea and took them to the Daedalus slipway.

A 1,000-metre exclusion area was in force around the drop zone.