'It was surreal': British couple describe having warning shots fired near them by Russian warship

'It was surreal': British couple describe having warning shots fired near them by Russian warship 40 minutes ago Share Save Add as preferred on Google Rachel Flynn , Paul Adams , diplomatic correspondent and Victoria Derbyshire , BBC Newsnight Watch: Couple on board yacht that drifted towards Russian warship speak to BBC Newsnight A British retired couple who were on a yacht which had warning shots fired near it by a Russian warship in the English Channel have described the "surreal" experience to BBC Newsnight. Jane and Alan Kelvey were sailing 23 miles off the coast of the Isle of Wight on Tuesday morning when they came into close contact with a Russian frigate, the Admiral Grigorovich. The warship fired into the UK-registered yacht's path, in what the Ministry of Defence has described as an "isolated incident". Russia's Defence Ministry said the yacht had been on a "dangerous approach" towards the warship, but the couple said they were "definitely not on a collision course". Recounting the incident, Jane Kelvey told BBC Newsnight: "[The warship] gave out five blasts on their horn, which means 'have you seen us?' "We immediately turned two degrees to port so they could see we had made a deliberate change of course, which meant we had seen them. "Then a minute or so later they gave another five blasts on their horn, immediately followed by four to five small arms fire. "That wasn't aimed at us - it was warning fire that went up in the air, we believe." In a statement earlier on Tuesday, the Russian Defence Ministry said the yacht had been on a "dangerous approach" towards the warship. It said the Admiral Grigorovich's crew had fired into the yacht's path with rifles after making several attempts to contact it over the radio and after launching warning flares. The ministry said its sailors had acted in "strict accordance with international shipping regulations". A Ministry of Defence (MoD) spokesperson told the BBC: "Following attempts to contact a British vessel in the channel, the Grigorovich fired warning shots. These were not aimed at the vessel and were an attempt to prevent a possible collision." Jane said their yacht, the Bright Future, was "definitely not on a collision course". "As far as we were concerned, it wasn't an incident until the gunfire started," she said. She called the gunfire "completely unnecessary", and said she reported the incident as a hazard to navigation "because that's what you're supposed to do". The incident happened around 20 nautical miles - around 23 standard miles - south of the Isle of Wight, outside of UK territorial waters. British authorities said they received reports from the yacht's occupants on Tuesday morning that a Russian vessel had fired warning shots from around 500 yards (457m) away - a relatively near distance by the standards of sea travel. The BBC understands that the small, motor-less yacht had drifted towards the warship in foggy conditions after setting off from the UK. British officials bel