A Ukrainian flag has been spotted flying in one of the most unlikeliest of places - on top of a Russian submarine.

In a unique show of solidarity, the yellow and blue national symbol is being displayed on the Black Widow Soviet submarine moored on the River Medway, just off Strood.

The U-475 sub has been there for almost two decades and been used as a filming location for music videos, documentaries, Playstation adverts and the movie Black Sea starring Jude Law.

But now it has been attracting attention of a different sort - after manager John Sutton decided to fly a Ukrainian flag at the top of the sub.

Mr Sutton took some photos of the flag flying and shared them on social media.

He posted them online in reply to a Russian Embassy tweet showing a picture of the sunrise over the River Teza in Russia with the caption 'Good morning!'.

Mr Sutton said: "I wanted to fly the Ukrainian flag as a gesture of support for Ukraine and I will be keeping it up.

"I saw the Russian Embassy tweets saying good morning so I thought I would tweet a reply."

Mr Sutton's photo was liked and shared by people from across the world.

He added: "I think people appreciate the gesture. It is probably the only Russian sub in the world flying an Ukrainian flag."

Built at Sudomekh shipyard in Leningrad and commissioned in 1967, the Black Widow served with the Soviet Baltic Fleet before being used as a training vessel until it was decommissioned in 1994 and sold.

After passing into private hands it was moored near the Thames Barrier in Woolwich and opened as a museum ship, until it was moved in 1998 to Folkestone, where it was again opened to the public, before it was moved to Strood in 2004.

Mr Sutton, who looks after the submarine for a property company, says the sub has been used for all sorts of filming and photography shoots since being on the River Medway.

The most recent visitors were filming a rap video and before that it was used by Italian Vogue for a David Bowie-inspired photo shoot when the sub featured as a spaceship.

He added: "I don't think there will be any more interest in the sub as a result of the war.

"For most people who used it, it is about the location, not the fact it is Russian. A lot of the time they blank out any Russian markings."

Mr Sutton said the long-term aim is to be able to allow visitors on board for public tours once again.

He added: "The problem is we would like to ferry people over but the pier in Rochester isn't operational."