Hundreds cheer as sailors are given freedom of the town (From Daily Echo)

Hundreds cheer as sailors are given freedom of the Gosport

4:07pm Friday 22nd March 2013 in News

Crowds have lined the streets to show their support for service personnel who exercised their freedom of their home town.

Two hundred sailors from training establishment HMS Sultan marched through the centre of Gosport for the event.

The parade, the first in eight years, marked Gosport Borough Council's recent updating of the original freedom status granted to the engineering training school in 1974.

The change represents the base's expansion, with it now housing separate schools for marine and air engineering.

Commodore Mark Slawson, HMS Sultan's commanding officer, said: ''I am delighted that Gosport borough and HMS Sultan were able to celebrate the close links that the town and the establishment enjoy.

''The celebration of the freedom of the borough is an event that we had been looking forward to for some time and it was pleasing to see so many people lining the streets.''

The parade, led by HMS Sultan's volunteer band, culminated with Commodore Slawson and Gosport mayor, Councillor Richard Dickson, taking the salute outside the town hall.