Navy bosses feared ‘suspicious pings’ were Russian drones targeting UK nuclear subs – but it was really a farting whale

A FARTING whale is thought to person sparked fears that Russian drones were targeting UK atomic subs.

The suspected blow-offs were picked up doubly by Navy sensors scanning the country for signs of force activity.

It raised concerns that 1 of Vladimir Putin’s drone subs had dropped a listening instrumentality connected to the seabed betwixt the Isle of Raasay and Applecross successful North West Scotland.

But a Naval authoritative told The Sun: “We person been analysing the sounds and present judge it was a marine mammal. A whale.”

However, different root said they were inactive worried, adding: “We are taking it precise seriously. We person to presume the worst.”

The dependable was archetypal detected travelling northbound from the scope towards unfastened sea. It came backmost days aboriginal and moved southbound towards the Skye Bridge earlier turning circular and leaving.

At first, analysts described them arsenic man-made sounds which had ne'er been picked up connected the scope successful its 55-year history.

It was feared that Russia’s heavy oversea probe unit, known arsenic GUGI, was trying to grounds acoustic signatures of our subs — making them easier to way and putting crews successful danger.

And this week 2 civilian ships equipped with undersea robots were spotted astatine enactment successful the 1,000ft-deep channel.

However, whale trumps person been mistaken for force subs successful the past.

The alert came arsenic Defence Secretary John Healey yesterday warned that Russian ships which harm British underwater cables faced being boarded and seized by Marines.

In November a Navy sub surfaced adjacent to a Russian spy ship loitering implicit captious undersea infrastructure successful the English Channel.

A Navy spokesperson said: “We perpetually show territorial waters to support the UK.”