A football match between the crews of two nuclear submarines at the North Pole had to be cancelled – the pitch was unplayable.

Trafalgar-class hunter-killer HMS Tireless was joined at the top of the world by Los Angeles-class boat USS Hampton early on Monday.

But when the two boats forced their way through the ice to the surface, they found the surrounding ice cap was strewn with large lumps of ice and there were significant snowdrifts, leaving no open space in which a football match could be organised.

Instead a transatlantic snowball fight was staged, and although Navy News Online is still awaiting the official result, there is a strong possibility it may be adjudged a draw.

Nuclear-powered submarines are the only type of boat capable of sustained deployments underneath the ice cap, and the RN is keen to maintain its expertise of under-ice operations.