A Ministry of Defence ban which stopped The Herald and all other media from entering Devonport Dockyard for HMS Cornwall's homecoming appears to have backfired - generating the negative headlines which it had hoped to avoid.

Earlier this year members of the warship's crew were captured by Iranian forces, and following their release a furuore broke out as some were allowed to sell their stories before the decision was reversed.

James Garnett, news editor at Plymouth-based The Herald, said he felt the MoD had "missed a trick" and the opportunity for some positive PR after introducing the ban - believed to have been prompted by fears from those in Whitehall about more headlines about the fiasco.

The paper has previously given full coverage to the return of city naval ships and submarines to Devonport, publishing dozens of pictures in-paper and online.

But this weekend's event was given just a two-paragraph mention at the bottom of page seven of Monday's paper, accompanied by two photographs of the ship taken by a reader.

And instead, the homecoming was given more publicity the previous week - as The Herald highlighted the "perverse" ban.

An in-paper appeal for pictures from the event failed to take off - with families opting to keep mobile phone pics and homecoming snaps to themselves for now.

James said: "We usually get some good photographs of families welcoming loved ones home, perhaps fathers who haven't yet seen their newborn baby and all sorts of lovely human interest stories.

"This time the MoD took the view that it wouldn't be a good idea (to allow access) because the media might ask awkward questions.

"We have always covered homecomings - they are an important part of Plymouth life and to be denied access is almost unprecedented.

"It is an historic occassion. They happen a lot but they are part of naval tradition and to not be able to record that is disappointing."

He added: "The MoD got a negative headline. We made a point of saying we disagreed with the decision, which is unusual for us, but I don't think the answer is to ban the media.

"We also haven't been able to report on the other work that the ship has done because we haven't been able to ask anyone what they have been doing - what about the stories of individual achievements?

"Here was an opportunity to move the story on and instead we just had a wall of silence which helps no-one."