With the nation at war it's good to know the Royal Navy has no intention of forgetting its manners - or the importance of a journalist's personal hygiene.

When Southern Daily Echo naval correspondent Ali Kefford put in a request to interview the commanding officer of HMS Ark Royal she didn't expect him to call her mobile at home that very evening while she was in the shower.

"Oh hello, this is Captain Massey calling from the Arabian Gulf," said the voice.

Having met the captain several times before, Ali felt brave enough to come clean about the fact she was dripping wet.

Captain Massey immediately insisted on ringing back when she was in a position to take shorthand without ending up with a soggy notebook.

"I was really impressed," said Ali, who is part of a special team set up to cover the Iraq conflict at the Southampton-based paper.

"Captain Massey's got more than enough on his plate without having to ring a journalist twice because she's washing her hair!"