A photographer has captured Hampshire soldiers in action during a beach training exercise.

Daily Echo Camera Club member Lee Churchill was snapping birds in Titchfield on Sunday when he witnessed a military training exercise in action.

Mr Churchill described it as a "strange outing".

The training exercise took place near Titchfield The training exercise took place near Titchfield (Image: Lee T Churchill) "[I] literally turned up and got set up on the beach to take some bird shots when four small black boats flew past and then started to follow a yacht.

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"Suddenly, I can hear machine gun fire numerous times, not sure if it was some sort of training or something more sinister, gave me a great photo opportunity."

The troops from 17 Port and Maritime Regiment, Royal Logistic Corps, were assisting a naval exercise led by 47 Commando Royal Marines off the beach at Titchfield.

An Army Spokesperson said: “Personnel were supporting a Naval exercise, providing vessels including a command and control platform and a target, allowing Commando Units to hone their skills and achieve their training objectives.”