TRAINEE sailors from HMS Raleigh will be lending their support to a grounds clearance project at Ford Park Cemetery (pictured), on Tuesday.

A group of six trainees will spend a day at the 34-acre Victorian cemetery, where the graves of service personnel who have lost their lives during both World Wars are located.

The trainees will help remove the debris from two recently felled trees.

John Boon, one of the trustees of the charity that looks after the cemetery, said: "Ford Park has much local history and is managed both for the benefit of local citizens and for wildlife.

"We only have two ground staff to maintain this large site and as a consequence large projects when they arise can pose problems.

"Most of our volunteers are unfortunately not able to undertake the physical work involved in such a task, so we are very grateful for the assistance provided by the trainees from HMS Raleigh."

The trainees involved in this task have recently completed their 10-week initial naval training course and are awaiting the start of their specialist training.

Instructor, Petty Officer Si Maleary, said: "Team working is essential to success in the Royal Navy and is a fundamental part of initial naval training.

"To have the opportunity to practice this skill outside of their normal environment is of immense benefit to these trainees. The work they will be carrying out at the cemetery is similar to what they could be called upon to do during a civil emergency or a disaster relief operation anywhere in the world."

This will be the second time that sailors from HMS Raleigh have helped out at the cemetery.

In 2005 trainee submariners helped to re-furbish the headstones of the graves of 11 submariners who perished when the Submarine A8 sank in Plymouth Sound in 1905.

HMS Raleigh then played a key role in supporting the rededication ceremony to mark the 100th anniversary of the victims' funeral.