A Spanish warship has been chased out of Spanish waters for the second time in a month.

According to the Royal Navy the HMS Scimitar intercepted the Infanta Cristina off the Gibraltar coast shortly after 9am British time.

It is the second time Scimitar was forced to respond to an incursion into British waters.

Disputes between Gibraltar and Spain over the waters are frequent but the latest comes after the territory of some 33,000 people took centre stage in the wrangling over Britain’s exit from the European Union, which was triggered on March 29.

An EU draft position published earlier this month after Prime Minister Theresa May filed formal divorce papers said the application of any EU-UK trade deal to Gibraltar had to be agreed between Britain and Spain, which has long claimed sovereignty over the enclave.